Somewhere Out There
by Asaf
Summary: Kiara's and Kovu's plea fails to reach the hearts of the outsiders. After losing all hope, an unexpected arrival occurs, but the struggle to move on and remain united grows.
1. Intro

**A/N: I do not own the cover photo. It belongs to Katikut from deviantART.**

**A special thank you to my buddy Alpha Leonis for giving me a hand in writing the description of this story! Give his profile a look if you have the time, please!**

Some souls suffer in silence. The silence of the victim, that is. Real silence; utter, rare and absolute silence, is sometimes the severest form of criticism.

Vitani slowly went over to her brother's side before turning to face her mother and the rest of her pride members. Every single one of them (and possibly the pridelanders, too, but she had her back turned on them) was staring directly at her. Some looked in shock and disbelief, but one specific pair of eyes looked at her with anger. "Enough…" said the worn out outsider, looking back into those two eyes.

Ever since the banishment she's done nothing but wonder why. Why couldn't she have grown up like a regular cub? Why did her mother have to believe that friends were for the weak? Why did she, and especially poor Nuka, grew up while barely getting any of Zira's attention, which wasn't even close to being the care a growing cub deserved to begin with? Why did she, who had lived in the Pridelands as a cub and grew to love absolutely everything about them, ended up following her mother absentmindedly as if the past never existed? Why did her older brother have to die? Lastly; why, why in the name of all the Great Kings of the Past had her mother done that horrible, unjustified act, ultimately leading to their exile?

All was silent. Surely Zira would listen to her own daughter, right? She was only ignoring Kovu because she was still angry about Nuka's death. Yes, that had to be it. The stillness lasted only for a few seconds before being interrupted by Zira, and yet it seemed to last forever. "If you will not fight," said the leader of the Outsiders, smiling ghastly at Vitani, "then you will die as well."

Vitani was shocked. She knew the possibility of Zira not listening to her was very likely, but to have her own mother threaten her with death - not for helping the pridelanders instead of the outlanders but for simply claiming to refuse to continue fighting for either side? Still rooted to the spot, she briefly looked at her pride members (or former pride members, by the looks of it). Not a single one of them seemed to be even slightly touched by the attempt of Kovu and Kiara, nor did they look like they would hesitate to operate with hostility towards her and Kovu.

"Y-you can't be serious…" said Vitani with pure astonishment, still looking at the outsiders. The last time she'd felt so confused and afraid was right before their banishment. "All this time we've been throwing lives away like dirt, and for what?!" She knew that Kiara was right. What was it that kept her pride members from understanding that their pointless feud with Simba's pride has gone too far and for too long? "Just because we disagree with one another?!" There Simba and the pridelanders were, seemingly willing to stop the fight and end the rivalry for good, and not a single outlander was going to even consider it?

Zira, who seemed to have heard quite enough from her treacherous daughter, snickered menacingly. "Attack!"

Vitani remained completely frozen as one of her former pride members roared and pounced directly in her direction. In any other situation she would fight back in order to defend herself, but she just couldn't get herself to even consider hurting one of her own. Just as the attacking lioness was about to collide with her she was struck by a blur of brown and black. Kovu. He did not attack the outsider, but simply tackled her away before she could reach his sister. "Stop!" he begged, but before he, Vitani and Kiara knew it, the pridelanders once again had no choice but to fight for their lives.

In what seemed like no time, Simba found himself once more face to face with Zira, who had that sinister, confident smile on her face. Why wouldn't she, though? She had the king of Pride Rock exactly where she wanted him. "Sorry, Simba, but your precious little daughter isn't going to save you!" she yelled with arrogance as she slowly approached her target, looking more than sure of herself. "The Pridelands are Scar's!"

"No."

Despite all the noise caused by the fighting around them Zira had somehow managed to catch the king's response. "What did you say?!" she asked, her voice a snarl. Somehow that very simple reply seemed to have more impact than any other choice of words would have had.

"I said no." Simba didn't need to growl or even bare his teeth in order for Zira to notice the resolute determination in his eyes. It enraged her.

With a loud roar the queen of the Outlands charged. The two fought for what seemed like ages. The fighting around them slowly ceased, with everyone's attention focusing on their battle. Nobody dared to interfere. Kiara and Kovu wanted to try to stop them, but they knew that any attempt would be pointless. Zira could not be reasoned with, and Simba couldn't stop fighting back because Zira wasn't going to leave him be. As horrible as watching their parents fight like that was, there wasn't anything they could do.

No matter what Zira tried to pull off she was simply unable to gain the upper hand. This infuriated her even more. She'd planned this out so carefully by attacking Pride Rock after the ambush on Simba earlier and she even waited for her lionesses to weaken him even more before taking him on herself. How come he was still able to stand, not to mention fend her off? Why couldn't he just drop and die already?! She could not understand. Of course she couldn't. A lioness like Zira would never understand.

Growing up believing he was responsible for his father's death only to find out that the uncle he's looked up to and admired as a cub was the one to blame… All the work he's put into the Pridelands after Scar's demise in order to rebuild them into the beautiful and prosperous kingdom Mufasa had left behind… Everything he's been through in his entire life… Did Zira truly believe that Simba was going to just let it all be for nothing? That he was going to let her hurt his family and pride members?

At some point the two of them broke apart and simply stood there, growling at each other and panting. Zira couldn't help but feel slightly satisfied with the fact that Simba looked more hurt and tired than she was (for obvious reasons). "Don't you see it's over, Simba?!" she exclaimed, her voice ringing out throughout the area now that the commotion around them no longer existed. "You can't keep going like this forever! This is the end of you!"

"No! It is _not_ over, Zira!" Silence followed. It took everybody a second to realize that the voice they'd just heard was not Simba's. The king's aggressive expression, which was directed at Zira, was replaced by a look of confusion. That voice, the source of which was somewhere behind him, couldn't possibly belong to a lioness. However, it wasn't Kovu's either. In the corners of his eyes he could see that all the lionesses surrounding him and Zira, pridelanders and outsiders alike, were looking at the speaker with shocked expressions on their faces. Only Zira still had her gaze fixed directly at Simba. It was possible that she wasn't paying attention, or maybe he was blocking her view.

Then, in his curiosity, the king of Pride Rock ended up doing the one thing he'd always warned Kiara to never do. He turned his back on an outsider. Before he could even focus well enough in order to figure out who he was looking at he found himself being forced down to the ground, his injured legs easily giving in under Zira's weight. The last thing he remembered before everything turned black was a sharp pain in his throat followed by a roar of rage as a blurry figure leaped over his head and shoved Zira away.

The first sense Simba regained was his sense of hearing. He could make out a few faint voices around him. A few seconds passed and he could suddenly tell he was lying on his side. The floor was very cold. The words spoken around him slowly became louder and clearer as the king of the Pridelands slowly drifted back into consciousness. Where was he? What was going on? Only after concentrating really hard for a few seconds he was able to recall what had happened.

Simba slowly breathed through his nose, smelling the air that surrounded him. The fragrance of rain after a long period of dry days was present, but it was very faint. A possible explanation to that was that it's been about a day since it last rained and, therefore, about a day since the attack of the outlanders. The more logical explanation, seeing how there was no wind, was that he was no longer outside in the open where the battle against Zira and her followers had taken place. Was he inside the den?

The king tried to move, but his limbs refused to respond to his will. Eventually, after what felt like eternity but was actually a long moment filled with fear and uncertainty, he was finally able to understand what was being said somewhere near him.

"Well?" Nala's voice... Thank the Great Kings of the Past! She sounded impatient and quite worried to say the least, but her voice assured Simba that he was safe now and that the outlanders were gone. If he could have shown any signs of panic at that moment, then he would have. After all, while Nala sounded okay, he had no idea whether the same could be said about their daughter.

"Rafiki did all that he could do." Simba immediately recognized the mandrill's voice and accent. "The king was very lucky, but… You must prepare yourselves for anything… There is a chance that-"

"That what?" came Kiara's unstable voice, cutting Rafiki short. It was a huge relief to find out that she was okay, too.

"There's no way to know for sure at the moment." continued the mandrill, his voice filled with concern. "There is a chance that your father will not live through this…" As he said this Kiara burst into tears. "The next few days are going to be crucial… I am very sorry…"

"Kiara, please don't cry…" said Kovu quietly. He couldn't bear to see his loved one like this.

"Thank you for coming all this way, Rafiki." said Nala as calmly as she could.

"It was all Rafiki's pleasure, my queen."

"How are you holding up?" Nala asked. Simba couldn't tell, but he assumed that she talking to their daughter. It was absolutely typical of his mate – making sure that others were okay despite how worried she was herself. That was one of the many traits Nala had which Simba valued so much.

However, to the king's surprise, Kiara wasn't the one who answered her. "I…" The den became silent, the only other noise being Kiara's weeping. "I don't know…" The voice was filled with doubt, but what caught Simba's attention the most was the fact that, while his initial thought was that he's never heard it before, it sounded somehow familiar. It had to be the same voice from before. That was the only reasonable explanation. The speaker stuttered incomprehensibly for a few seconds before carrying on. "He… He can't die…" He let out a long and heavy sigh. "Not now… I came all this way…"

"I know the situation doesn't look well," said Rafiki reassuringly, "but there is hope. You must remain optimistic. All of you."

"I know…" continued the same voice.

"For the time being, though, on a happier note…" said the mandrill, his words followed by the sound of him slowly making his way outside, "Welcome back."

"Thank you…"

Simba couldn't take it anymore. Just who was this mysterious stranger? As if right on cue, his eyelids suddenly decided to obey him and open. But, to his dismay, everyone who was present inside the den was standing behind him. He was going to have to stand up and turn around in order to get a better view because, as soon as he attempted to move his neck, the result was great pain. Still determined, the king slowly rolled onto his stomach, the den becoming completely silent as he did.

After a lot of effort and what felt like forever to Simba, he finally managed to rise. His vision was out of focus and he felt very weak, but he didn't care. As soon as he turned around he lost his balance, but he didn't hit the ground. Somebody was standing next to him, providing Simba's exhausted body with something to lean against for support. "Hey, it's okay… I got you, don't worry..."

Simba's eyes went wide in surprise. The lion he was trying to identify was standing right by him. Ignoring his aching neck, he managed to somehow raise his gaze to meet with that of the one supporting him and was met with a golden furred face which was crowned with a reddish brown colored mane. The small smile on the lion's face was a mixture of relief, concern and sadness. What amazed Simba the most was his eyes. He recognized them.

"Hello dad…" said the lion.


	2. Hello Dad

**Tman210: Thanks! I know it would be tragic. That's what I was aiming for. **

**TomMaier: Thank you!**

**WTF123: I had that in mind as I was writing the intro. I know I have to come up with something that'll directly involve both Kovu and Kiara in a significant way. Although, when you think about it, she didn't do anything differently and is the exact same character with the exact same intentions. Still, I do want her to have a role in this story.**

**Incarnate Firefly: Thanks a bunch! I noticed that you've written quite a lot of fan fiction about Kopa so it's nice to have you follow the story! I haven't read anything you've written yet but I hope to find the time to soon. As for what exactly happened after Kopa threw Zira off of Simba, I will get to it at some point.**

_It was looking to be the beginning of a fine day. Through his barely open eyes, King Simba could identify the orange hue of the sky outside by looking towards the entrance of the den. From the looks of it, even though it was difficult to see very well in his sleepy state, the sun had just begun to rise, which could only mean that there was still some time to sleep before he would have to wake up and start his day of, well, being the king._

_It was only after claiming the throne a few months earlier that the heir of Mufasa realized, while he still remembered everything he'd learned as a cub, that his father hadn't had the time to teach him everything there was to know. The knowledge the deceased king had managed to bestow upon him before the stampede was certainly useful, but Simba very quickly found out that he didn't really know how to be a king._

_True, after Scar's reign there wasn't much of a kingdom left for him to take care of, but that didn't make things any less difficult for the newly crowned monarch. On the contrary – he didn't have a kingdom to maintain, but a kingdom to rebuild. Fortunately enough for Simba, he had his mother to guide him and fill the gaps in his education. Having ruled by Mufasa since his coronation and until his death, Sarabi knew more than well what being a ruler required._

_With the hyenas driven away and the fortune to have the drought that had overshadowed Scar's time as king end, as well as the support, assistance and encouragement the new king of Pride Rock received from everyone around him, the Pridelands ever so slowly but eventually recovered. With grass and water at hand again, the herds also returned, making prey common once more and restoring the balance that had been lost after Scar's claim of the throne._

_A list of the things he was going to have to take care of that day already running through his mind, Simba soon found himself wondering why he was already awake to begin with. That is, until his ears once again caught the sound of someone calling to him. The lion squinted a few times before noticing that something was partially blocking his view of the mouth of the den. He couldn't tell exactly what it was, what with him barely being half awake, and could only describe it as a little golden blur with a tiny bit of brown. The blur grew bigger and bigger. Then it slammed directly into the king's muzzle, fully waking him up._

_"Come on, wake up!" exclaimed an excited, impatient and somewhat squeaky voice. Still a little confused, Simba groaned in annoyance and rubbed his eyes with his paws. "You promised!" Shaking his head for a few seconds in order to rid himself of any traces of sleep, Simba looked and finally identified the source of the disturbance. He smiled fondly at the little cub. "Hello dad!"_

_End flashback_

Simba woke up with a start, breathing heavily as his eyes slowly adjusted to the lighting inside the den. It was definitely sometime around the middle of the day. As far as he could recall, when he'd woken up for the first time after the battle with the outsiders, it was the middle of the night. He must have passed out for quite some time, but he did recall hearing what Rafiki had said, and then that lion…

This led Simba to wonder why he'd dreamed about that in particular just now. It couldn't have been real. The king knew that more than well. But then he remembered looking into those eyes, almost completely identical to his own… No, he must have imagined everything. His son was dead. If there really was a rogue lion in the Pridelands now, (if Simba hadn't imagined his existence as well, that is), then it couldn't be him. It just couldn't.

"Father?" Simba's train of thoughts was then interrupted. With some effort; mainly pain in his neck, he managed to move his head and look at Kiara, who was sitting next to Kovu. Her expression was a mixture of concern and relief. "Father!" Unable to sit still any longer, his daughter rushed over to him and embraced him in a hug, causing to wince in pain.

"Kiara, maybe you shouldn't do that…" said Kovu, causing the princess to immediately withdraw from her father.

Kiara looked at down at her father, feeling a little guilty. With all of her excitement that he was awake again, something she obviously considered as a good sign, she'd completely forgotten that he was injured. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to, I…" she bent over, gently nuzzling her father as she fought back her tears. "I was so worried!" As unpleasant as Kiara's hug had been just now, Simba was about to tell her that it was alright when she suddenly pulled herself away from him again. "Oh, they'll both be so happy to see that you're up! I'll go call them, they should be outside! Just give me a moment!"

They? Before Simba could ask his daughter just who "they" were (or at least one of them, seeing how the first one was most likely Nala), she ran outside, leaving him and Kovu alone in the den. Kovu's gaze followed her until she disappeared from his view altogether, and when the young lion looked back at Simba he found himself feeling rather uncomfortable upon noticing that the king was looking at him as well.

The last time the two of them had spoken to one another ended in Kovu being chased out of the Pridelands by pretty much almost every animal that lived in the kingdom. It made Kovu feel sick to think, had the situation he and the father of his love interest were both in occurred a few days earlier, that he would not have hesitated to end the king's life right then and there. "Uh…" Kovu rubbed the back of his head with a paw, feeling nervous. "How are you?"

"Could be better…" said Simba with a weak and hoarse voice as he slowly moved from lying on his side to lying on his stomach. From the looks of it the king of Pride Rock was also finding the situation to be rather awkward.

Kovu's paw slowly dropped back down to the floor and his eyes followed it. He felt ashamed knowing that, if it weren't for him accidentally "leading" Simba straight into Zira's ambush, this whole thing wouldn't have happened. It could have also been avoided had the outsiders listened to him and Kiara, which made him upset even though it wasn't like he could have done anything about that. "Er, listen, Simba…" he said all of a sudden, forcing himself to look at Simba despite how difficult it felt to do so. "I wanted to once again apologize for all of this and to ask for your forgiveness…"

"You don't have to apologize, Kovu." replied the older lion. After the way Kovu and Kiara had tried to stop the fighting between the pridelanders and the outsiders, what other proof that Kovu wasn't on Zira's side anymore could anybody need?

"No, I do…" Kovu noticed that the king was about to say something else but he cut him short. "You see… Even though, technically speaking, you were the one who led the way when we talked before walking into Zira's ambush, it's still my fault…"

"How come?" asked Simba, curious as to just what could have caused Kovu to believe that.

"I'm not going to lie… It would have been the right thing for you to do if you'd refused to let me into the Pridelands after the fire during Kiara's first hunt… As you might have suspected, Zira had sent me here to end your life." The younger lion once again looked down at his paws, unable to look Simba in the eyes. "At first, that was just what I was going to do. But then I got to know Kiara better…" He smiled all of a sudden. "She reminded me how to have fun and she the first lioness to have ever shown me any compassion… Before I knew it, I was falling for her and having doubts about what I'd been charged with doing."

Kovu paused and took a deep breath before continuing. This was the part he regretted the most. "When I wanted to talk to Kiara that day," he said, wondering whether Simba remembered, "I wanted to tell her about Zira's plan. Before I managed to, though, you arrived and we left Pride Rock together."

"So what seems to be the problem?" asked Simba with a kind smile, unable to tell which part of Kovu's story made the younger male feel like he needed to apologize.

"I know I couldn't tell her because we were no longer there, where she was, but… This whole thing would have been avoided if I'd told you right then and there!" He growled briefly, feeling frustrated. "But instead of that I continued talking to you as if nothing was wrong just because I was too nervous to spill the beans! And look at you now!"

"It's completely understandable that Kiara was the only one you felt like you could talk to about that." replied the older lion. "It's not like you knew we were going to run into your mother and the other outsiders. You probably thought you'd be able to tell Kiara sometime later that day." The king studied Kovu's expression carefully and realized that the former outsider wasn't going to be persuaded. He clearly had his mother's stubbornness. "But if you insist on apologizing, then I forgive you."

The young adult looked at Simba as he said that, looking as if he hadn't expected that in the slightest. "I would like to apologize as well." continued Simba with a smile. "I was wrong. You belong here. So does Vitani. Welcome back."

Kovu was about to stutter an incomprehensible 'thank you', but at that point talking could be heard from outside the den. "Wait, where is he now?" it was Kiara. Her voice slowly grew louder, indicating that she was getting closer to the den.

"I sent him to get some water and fresh air." said Nala, the eagerness to see Simba now that he was awake noticeable in her tone. "After all he'd spent the past two days without moving from your father's side…" Two days?! It certainly surprised Simba to hear that. He didn't feel like he'd rested for two days. In fact he was still very weak and exhausted, but that was probably because he hadn't eaten for quite some time already. Nala's choice of words informed the king that, whoever that rogue lion was, he was still in the Pridelands.

Before Simba could continue to contemplate his true opinion on the matter, however, his mate and daughter came walking hurriedly into the den. Nala froze when she saw that, at last, her loved one was finally awake again and a smile of relief soon appeared on her face as she rushed over to her mate and nuzzled into his mane. It wasn't very easy for Simba to return her affection, what with him being wounded and all. Nala felt as warm as ever and her presence was an enormous source of comfort after what had happened with the outsiders, so Simba didn't care that it hurt to perform an action as simple as rubbing his head against hers.

"I was so worried…" whispered Nala, her voice only audible enough for Simba to hear. Because it's been more than two days since Rafiki had last inspected Simba and said that he wasn't in a very good condition, having him wake up again was definitely a good sign. While Nala didn't want to jump into any conclusions, she had a really good feeling that her mate was slowly recovering and that his life was no longer in immediate danger. His situation definitely wasn't becoming worse. After all, two days wasn't a small period of time when it came to this sort of thing. Growing up during Scar's reign had taught her that.

The queen eventually slightly pulled away from her mate, keeping her muzzle pressed against his. "You should be careful for the next few days." she said in her usual, caring tone. That statement confused Simba for a brief moment, but he soon realized that she was talking about when he'd woken up for the first time two days ago. "We don't want you to accidentally hurt yourself…" Falling over might not sound too serious, but Simba hated to admit that, in his fragile state, there might be severe consequences if that were to happen. "So just take it easy for the time being." she added after a short pause. "We're all here for you."

Normally one would silently mouth the typical "thank you", but there were so many things on Simba's mind that were at his center of attention. He didn't know where to start. Where were all of his pride members, who he hasn't seen at all since the fight with the outsiders? Timon and Pumbaa? Were they all okay? Were they hurt? Where were the outsiders? And Zira? Was the feud over? Was his pride and family safe at last?

"Can you believe it, Simba?" Nala asked all of a sudden with a smile, snapping the king back into reality "He's alive…" Oh, right. The rogue. "Our baby boy's come home…"

"Nala…" he said with a troubled expression, slightly shaking his head.

"What's wrong?"

Simba let out a sigh. It was almost painful to see that his mate actually believed that their son was back. He didn't want her to develop any false hopes that might hurt her. "I don't know who this lion is, but you know it's not him."

"Simba, it is him." replied the queen with a somewhat less merry expression. What mother wouldn't recognize her own child?

"Our son is dead, Nala." said Simba with a stern expression as Nala got to her paws, staring at him with disbelief. "He was murdered and taken away from us." The king sat up, with great difficulty, causing his mate's expression to turn into a look filled with worry. Doing this was somewhat easier than when he'd tried to stand on his own two days ago, which could only mean that he really was recovering. "I know you want him back. We both do. But that's no reason to get our hopes up over some random rogue who's going around claiming to be somebody he isn't."

"But-"

"Nala, please…" The last thing Simba wanted to do was to have an argument with Nala about a subject that was still so painful to both of them even after all these years. "Enough."

"Are you telling me that you looked into his eyes and felt nothing?" asked Nala with a slight frown, seemingly catching her mate off guard.

"You know that's not true." said Simba with some hesitation. "You know I wish it was him just as much as you do."

"I know you think that I'm mistaken …" said Nala with a sigh, closing the small distance between the two of them and sitting down right in front of him. "That we're all wrong… But think about it for a moment. Would Rafiki err about something like this?" This made Simba hold back whatever he was about to say. Nala did have a point, but the king of Pride Rock simply couldn't do it. He couldn't get himself to take the risk of believing Kopa was back and then being proven wrong or living the rest of his life in a lie. It would be unbearable. "Simba… I look at him and I just know…"

"I didn't have any doubts when I found you in the jungle, did I?" Nala continued after another silence, nudging his cheek with her nose as her mate looked down at the floor, unsure of what to say or even think. "When you came back…" Simba looked at her, feeling more and more uncertain by the moment. "Did your mother call you an imposter?" Simba slowly shook his head after a few seconds, closing his eyes as a sudden wave of dizziness hit him.

Nala quietly looked at her mate, becoming somewhat confused as he continued to remain silent. "Simba?" she asked quietly, licking him on the cheek. The queen immediately grew worried as Simba slowly opened his eyes, revealing that they were completely out of focus. Feeling guilty all of a sudden, she gently ushered him into lying back down, letting out a soft sigh as she did. She should have known better than to push him into talking about this, especially in his condition. Perhaps she'd been mistaken? Could it be that Simba's life was still in danger? No. Certainly his situation would have become worse by now if that were the case.

Kovu and Kiara rushed over to the pair in order to give Nala a paw in helping Simba lie down, earning a silent nod of appreciation from the cream colored lioness. "Maybe we should ask Rafiki to come over again?" asked Kiara once her father was safely down on the ground and no longer in danger of somehow getting hurt by losing his balance. "Just to be safe?"

Nala was about to make an answer to her daughter's suggestion but was interrupted by a sudden commotion coming from outside the den. A few seconds passed before the hunting party entered, carrying two antelopes with them. Being the queen, Nala usually lead the hunting party, but the lionesses had all insisted that their leader should stay at her mate's side until he recovered, despite her being a valuable addition to the team. "Are you hungry, Simba?" she asked quietly, nudging his shoulder in order to get his attention. To her surprise, however, he slowly shook his head. He felt anything but hungry.

After placing the antelopes down in a different corner of the den, the lionesses finally became aware of the fact that their king was awake and soon enough they were all huddled around him, trying to form their own opinion as to whether his condition has improved or not during the course of the past two days. At first Nala considered asking them to give Simba some space, but she figured that she couldn't blame them for looking out for their ruler's well being. Simba seemed quite content with being able to see that all the lionesses were okay, so there really was no point in her getting in the way.

Deciding to give her mate some time to catch up with their pride mates, the queen slowly walked outside, oblivious to the fact that Kiara and Kovu had followed her. She made her way towards the tip of Pride Rock, sitting down and looking out into the Pridelands to see if she could spot Kopa anywhere. True, the waterhole was too far away in order for her to be able to tell if there was any living creature next to it from her location, but her son was probably already making his way back to Pride Rock. If it were so, then she might be able to spot him. To her dismay, however, she couldn't.

It was then that Zazu, her and Simba's majordomo, came flying in her direction, looking like he was in quite a hurry to say the least. He landed on the confused queen's shoulder, as was his habit with Simba and as had been his habit with Mufasa, trying to catch his breath. Nala eyed him closely, wondering what could have sent the hornbill into such a fright. "Your highness!" he finally blurted out, still breathing heavily. "There's an outsider in the Pridelands!"

**A/N: Thanks again to those of you who reviewed! The next chapter should come out within 2 weeks. I'm in the military (mandatory service, I don't really have a choice…) which means that I get to be home on an average of once in 2 weeks for the weekend. Yeah, my situation is really lame. Hopefully, once the basic training comes to an end, I'll be allowed to actually do things during my spare time. Then I can take a laptop with me and write. :3**

**I sure hope Kopa's not in trouble… What will happen once he and his father actually get to talk to each other?**

**As you can probably tell by that flashback in the beginning of the chapter, the past isn't something that's going to be neglected in this story. Everything will be explored from both Kopa's perspective and that of his parents. Sometime in the very near future the story will focus a lot on what has happened before what is happening on now.**


	3. Remembrance

**A/N: Starting from this chapter the story is also going to explore the past in more than just small flashbacks. I'll make sure to inform you whenever I switch between the past and the present, so make sure to not miss my notifications or else you'll end up getting confused. They will be ****bolded**** to reduce the chances of you not noticing them.**

**Incarnate Firefly: I believe you're going to find this story quite different in more than just that. You'll see in due time. :)**

**almondbutter: It's a reddish sort of brown according to most fanart out there, but still brown. It doesn't matter too much, though.**

**Alpha Leonis: Don't worry. What happened right after Kopa returned including his first conversation with his mother will be revealed as well.**

Nala's confused expression turned into a frown upon hearing the word 'outsider'. Whatever compassion or pity she had for Zira's followers had pretty much vanished completely when they had refused to listen to Kiara and Kovu and end the feud. Up until that moment the queen had had this hope within her that they weren't like Zira and that they deserved a second chance – that there was no need for further bloodshed. But if defending themselves was the only thing she, her family and her pride could do, then so be it.

While having definitely gone through vigorous training under Zira, the outsiders were easily outnumbered by the pridelanders not to mention weaker due to the lack of food and water that was present in the outlands. That, added to the fact that their injuries had eventually forced them to flee the battle almost three days ago, assured Nala and the rest of the pride that another all out assault by the outsiders would not take place again anytime soon. As a safety precaution, though, Nala had ordered everyone to not go anywhere on their own and to be accompanied by at least one more pride member when doing so.

Well, there was but one pride member the queen hadn't given that instruction to because, while everybody else had attended the assembly she had summoned, he'd stayed by his father's side. Her eyes becoming wide with terror, she turned around and dashed past Kiara and Kovu, making her way to the bottom of Pride Rock. "Zazu!" she called, "Fly to the waterhole! Find him!" How could she have made that mistake again?

_Flashback_

_"Nala, dear, please!" said Zira innocently, ignoring the ferocious glare the queen was giving her. "I simply got even! Besides, this is your fault as much as it is mine."_

_"What did you say?!" asked Nala, her voice somewhere between a growl and a roar._

_"Letting your cub wonder off on his own like that…" Zira shook her head with a sigh, as if she was sad. "What a horrible mother you are…"_

_End flashback_

"Mom, wait!" Kiara and Nala haven't spoken to Kopa much ever since he'd returned because he was so busy worrying about Simba, which made him a not very talkative partner for conversation. His sister and mother were obviously quite curious, to say the least, to find out what had happened to him. Where he'd been all this time? How come he'd survived? Why did he return just now and not sooner? There were so many questions the entire pride wanted answers to, but it looked like they were all going to wait for things to calm down a little before getting them. Still, that did not mean that Kiara wasn't worried about Kopa as well, regardless of the fact that, him being related to her aside, the two of them were practically complete strangers. She was about to run after Nala, but Kovu got in her way.

While he wasn't going to say that to her face, she wasn't too much of a fighter. "This could be dangerous." Kiara frowned at his response. Was Kovu going to start acting like her father now? Before she could protest, however, two lionesses came sprinting out of the den, following their queen. It looked like everybody inside the den had heard the commotion, including Simba.

_Meanwhile, by the waterhole_

It was a beautiful day. The sun was making its way from the east to the center of the sky, the wind was gently blowing and the birds were singing. Prince Kopa had been absent for so long and, because of everything that's been going on since his return, this was practically the first time he was actually taking a look at the Pridelands again after all of this time. It looked like the kingdom hasn't changed at all, and the land felt more alive than he could remember.

Nala had found it to be quite a difficult task to convince him to leave Simba's side, but she eventually managed to get him to do something so basic and simple and yet something that he really needed to do. With all the suspense of the past few days, a peaceful walk and some fresh water was exactly what the worried prince needed. It's not like anything bad could happen if he were to be absent for a while. His mother had assured him that Pride Rock was always under careful watch and that Zazu was constantly on the lookout for anything suspicious.

Since it's been almost three days since Zira had almost killed Simba, the prince already knew that Simba's life was no longer in immediate danger due to his injuries. Still, he couldn't get the concern and anxiety out of his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about that moment when he pounced at Zira with fury because he thought, after all this time, that everything he'd been through was all for nothing. That horrid moment where it looked like his father would never get to find out that he was still alive refused to let his mind rest.

It was only natural for animals to keep a safe distance from their predators even when it seemed like said predators were not looking for prey, but to Kopa's surprise the waterhole was rather crowded when he got to it. Yes, animals that were small or were not in a large group that guaranteed their safety did scatter a little when the lion arrived by the water's edge, but they still stayed nearby. He had no problem with not having the waterhole to himself, in a manner of speaking, but it was still a peculiar situation.

It almost looked like they were all still there so that they could observe him. Rumors did spread fast around the Pridelands, it seemed. Not sure of what to think about his crowd, Kopa decided to just go ahead and do what he was there to do. He bent over and began to drink. Feeling the cool, fresh water run down his dry throat was quite a refreshing sensation to say the least. Since it was rather hot, the prince was tempted to go ahead and jump right in, but that was when something caught his attention.

Slightly raising his gaze from his reflection, Kopa suddenly noticed that all the animals that were there when he'd arrived were gone. Could he have imagined them being there to begin with? No. He was thirsty and hungry, but not hallucinating. Something felt amiss. Something inside his head was yelling at him to turn around. His expression turning into a snarl, he spun around in an instant. But saw nothing.

The prince raised an eyebrow in confusion, his expression turning back to normal. What was that all about? His train of thought was interrupted when a familiar voice reached his ears. "Young master!" Kopa raised his head towards the sky and saw Zazu flying in his direction, eventually landing in front of him and letting out what appeared to be a sigh of relief.

It definitely looked like his father's majordomo was there solely for the purpose of looking for him and that the hornbill was in quite a hurry. Becoming a little nervous, the prince was about to ask whether anything has happened to his father when he saw Nala sprinting in his direction, accompanied by two other lionesses. "Kopa!" she exclaimed, relief washing over her as she came to a stop in front of her son, nuzzling him. "You're alright!"

Kopa returned his mother's nuzzle, realizing that whatever reason Zazu had for searching for him with such haste, it probably wasn't related to Simba at all. "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked as his mother pulled away, giving her a small reassuring and yet questioning smile.

Nala was just about to tell him why she'd been so worried about his whereabouts but decided against it. The last thing she wanted or needed was to have her son wondering around the Pridelands looking for one of Zira's followers. "Er, nothing… Your father's awake." she said, knowing that that would prevent him from questioning her further.

While his mother's answer definitely did not explain why she was so worried about him, it really was more than enough to make Kopa forget about the matter altogether. "He is?!" he asked, as if unable to believe it. Finally, after two days of concern and unbearable impatience, he could finally talk to his father after all of this time. When his mother smiled and nodded in approval the prince broke into a run, heading in the direction of Pride Rock.

With Kopa gone and headed to a safe place, Nala let out a sigh of relief knowing that her child was out of harm's way before looking at Zazu and the two lionesses that had accompanied her. "I want you to take a look around." she said, frowning. "Make sure there's nothing to worry about. But be careful."

Meanwhile, in the tall grass nearby, a lioness was gasping for breath as another lioness that she'd once looked at as somebody she could trust kept her pinned down while pressing one paw on her throat and clenching her muzzle shut with another. The lioness on top carefully listened until she was completely certain that Nala and the others had left as well. "I should slice your throat right here." she said, her voice a growl as she released her grip on the latter's muzzle and reduced the pressure she was applying to her throat.

"Like you would…" growled the latter, glaring up at the traitor. She'd been sent into the Pridelands to scout around and return to her leader with information, but when she saw Kopa she knew she couldn't pass up on such an opportunity. She'd been ready to rush out of the tall grass and pounce at the prince before going for his throat while he had his back turned on her location. Hadn't she been interrupted, there would have probably been no struggle. Not even a cry for help. That was what she thought, at least. She wasn't aware of the fact that the prince had eventually looked around.

"I really did not want to hurt you or any of the others back there," growled the first lioness, "but now it's different. So you listen to me carefully, because I'm only going to say this once." She looked directly into the outsider's eyes, her expression so full of rage that it made her former pride member gulp in fear. "Stay away from him. Got it? Because if I ever see you come near him, my brother or anybody else in the Pridelands I will kill you."

"If you and the Pridelanders think it's over then you're sadly mistaken." said the outsider. "His return isn't going to make a difference. You'll live to regret what you've-" she was cut short when her attacker clawed at her shoulder, causing her to roar out in pain.

"I've already lost him once!" roared Vitani, feeling like she was moments away from losing her patience altogether. "I'm not going to lose him again! So don't come back!" she got off of her former pride member, knowing that the lioness would be unable to attack her and put up much of a fight because of the injury in her shoulder. Growling as the outsider slowly got to her paws, she had to resist the urge to claw at her again. "That goes for mother, too!" she said, watching as the injured lioness limped away so to not give Vitani a chance to change her mind.

_Back at Pride Rock_

Simba let out an angry roar. He finally managed to get Kiara to tell him why Nala had run off in such a hurry, and of course that hearing that there was an outsider in the Pridelands, especially after what had happened, was enough to send him into a fury. He was simply tired of even hearing Zira's pride being mentioned. Much like his mate, he could care less about them after their refusal to end the rivalry. What point was there in trying to reason with those who could not be reasoned with?

"Father, please calm down…" said Kiara, obviously worried for her father. After he'd nearly passed out during his conversation with her mother earlier she thought that the last thing he needed was to get all emotional again. To her dismay, Simba decided to stand up, apparently intending to make sure that everything was okay himself. "Daddy, no, you'll hurt yourself." It was obvious that he'd barely be able to walk on his own not to mention defend himself if he had to. "Don't worry, mom will find Kopa and everything will be-"

"Do not mention your brother!" The king snapped, causing his daughter to back away in surprise. He was sick of the outsiders and he was sick of those false rumors about his son being alive. He wanted them gone, for good, including that imposter who had the nerve to come barging into his kingdom claiming to be its original heir. Kiara was shocked. It was as if her father had forgotten about his conversation with Nala earlier. Little did the princess know, because of his rather delirious state, that that was exactly the case. The only part of the talk with his mate that Simba did remember was the part where she refused to admit that their son wasn't back.

Just as he was about to ignore his daughter's advice and limp his way out of the den Kopa came running inside. The prince looked like he was out of breath, which could only mean that he'd ran all the way back from the waterhole. Despite having just lost his temper at hearing his son being mentioned, Simba's head was suddenly filled with confusion as he stood face to face with the supposed imposter. The king of Pride Rock looked the younger lion over. He definitely looked like he could be Kopa, and yet Simba just couldn't bring himself to even try to consider it to be true.

"I'm really glad you're finally awake again, dad!" Simba had to resist the urge to wince as he heard the word dad. That lion even had his son's smile. Kopa looked like he was about to say something else as he slowly walked closer to his father, but Simba cut him short.

"Get out." he said, causing the prince to stop dead in his tracks. Before Kopa could even begin to realize that these two words had really just come out of his father's mouth Simba turned his back on him and began to slowly limp deeper into the den. When he heard his son follow him he came to a stop and let out a low growl. "Didn't you hear me?" he asked, not even bothering to look around because seeing those eyes again would be too painful. He still remembered what it was like to lose the cub he'd fallen in love with.

**The Pridelands, before the banishment of Zira and the rest of Scar's supporters**

Young Prince Kopa was out exploring on his own. With his father out on a border patrol, his mother leading the hunting party and Vitani and Nuka babysitting their newly born brother, Kovu, the little prince had to settle for finding a way to pass the time on his own. While he was a lot like Simba had been when he was a cub, he was also different in many ways. One of the things the two had in common, though, was their enthusiasm and curiosity to see everything there was to see in the Pridelands.

While Simba had been more fond of getting into mischief and pulling pranks on other animals (mainly Zazu), Kopa actually preferred to talk to the different residents of the kingdom and get to know more about their species. One thing his father couldn't understand was his son's fondness of baths. He actually enjoyed them! And how come he enjoyed doing pretty much everything with Simba, but refused to use Zazu as a target in one of his pouncing lessons because he thought it would be mean? At least the prince didn't mind eating grubs every now and then. Nala was quite angry when she found out that her mate had gotten him into liking those too. She had to take comfort in the fact that Kopa was more well behaved in general than his father had been when he was their son's age.

Kopa looked around in confusion. Usually there were a lot of animals all over the Pridelands wondering about and living their lives, but for some reason he could not see a single living thing anywhere. It wasn't a hot day, which only made the whole situation even more peculiar and his quest in finding something to occupy himself with even more difficult.

The cub was just about to give up entirely and make his way back to Pride Rock when he heard an amused snicker behind him. He turned around and saw Zira standing merely a few inches away from him, looking quite delighted. "Why, Kopa…" she said, smiling grimly at the prince.

Kopa smiled up at the lioness ever so innocently. "Hey auntie Zira!" At least now he would have somebody to talk to. Well, more than just one somebody to talk to. The prince didn't notice the group of lionesses that was loyal to Zira slowly gather behind him.

"What are you doing out here and, so… alone?"

**A/N: I actually wrote this chapter last weekend while in my military base. I took my mom's old laptop with me. I would have posted this chapter during the weekend but it appears that this horrible laptop has lost its ability to search for wi-fi networks. I managed to fix it today (it's an Israeli holiday, so I got to open the laptop again). I hope you enjoyed this update!**

**Thanks again to those who reviewed (it would be a delight to get even more reviews from you all)!**

**Until next time (this weekend / in a few days hopefully)!**


	4. Painful Past

**Incarnate Firefly: Thanks!**

**WTF123: Well here it is! :)**

** SlayerOrnstein: Thanks a bunch! I appreciate it!**

Notice the notification below!

**The Pridelands, before the exile (same time where the last chapter left off)**

It was a peaceful evening. The sun was setting, the heat of the typical day in the African savannah was fading away and being replaced by the chilly, soothing breeze that signaled the dawn of the moon. Opposed to the sometime unbearable temperatures that were present during the day, nights in the Pridelands could be very cold and tonight was looking like it was going to be colder than usual, giving off the impression that it might rain when looking at the clouds that were present in the sky.

Just like on any other day before that one, King Simba was making his way back towards Pride Rock. His day had been a rather busy one, having kept him completely occupied since he'd left Pride Rock after dawn. He was already looking forward to arriving back at Pride Rock and seeing his family. Coming back to be greeted by his loving mate and their son was something that he awaited with great anticipation on a daily basis. Hearing Kopa's excitement whenever his father would return always filled Simba's heart with nothing but joy. The two of them had watched the stars together the night before and, like his father before him, the king had told his son about the Great Kings of the Past. After that he'd promised Kopa that they would go star gazing again on the following night, and that was a promise he was going to keep.

Back when Nala'd been pregnant with Kopa, his mother and former queen, Sarabi, kept constantly telling him that parenthood was one of the most wonderful experiences any animal out there could go through. While what she'd said did nothing but make the king more and more impatient as the birth of his and Nala's cub drew closer, it certainly didn't prepare him for just how amazing being a father would actually be like.

He still remembered pacing back and forth outside of the den while Nala was in labor and feeling like his nerves were about to crack. The entire pride had been with him at the time with the exception of his mother in law, Sarafina, who was attending on Nala along with Rafiki inside the cave.

_Flashback_

_Everybody around him also looked worried, as if they wanted this whole thing to be over with already as well. They all wanted to see either Rafiki or Sarafina walk out of the den with a smile and hear them say that the birth had gone smoothly, without complications of any sort, and that the cub or cubs were healthy. For obvious reasons, the soon-to-be-father was having a harder time staying calm than everybody else. Instead of trying to relax by thinking positive thoughts like whether his cub would be a boy or a girl or what will he / she look like, all his head could come up with were those negative 'what if's._

_After what felt like forever to Simba but was actually a much shorter period of time than what it seemed like to the nervous monarch, Rafiki finally came walking towards him and the rest of the lionesses. He looked at them with a smile and then held out one of his hands in the direction of the den, letting them all know that the birth was over. Finally! Without waiting a single moment Simba rushed past the mandrill and ran inside, immediately making his way towards Nala and Sarafina who were in the back of the den._

_Despite the intense desire to make sure that his mate was alright, the king of Pride Rock found himself coming to a halt a small distance away from her and her mother. He was unable to see the faces of the two lionesses who had their attention on something else, probably the newborn cub. What was he supposed to do now? For some reason he felt too nervous to approach. Sarafina soon became aware of the fact that he was there and, after whispering something to Nala, got up and moved away a little to give the two of them some room._

_As she did so Nala looked around over her shoulder, smiling when she laid her eyes on her mate. "Simba?" she asked, her voice a little weak. It was clear from her expression that she was tired, but she also seemed happy and relieved._

_Hearing her call out to him like that made Simba forget his hesitation altogether as he hurried over to her. He lay down next to her and placed a foreleg over her shoulders upon arriving by her side, briefly rubbing his head against hers. "I'm here…"_

_Nala purred at his affection before looking down at her paws. "Look…" Simba followed her gaze, his eyes soon setting on a little furry form that appeared to be resting between her paws. "Meet our son."_

_The cub was so tiny that it was hard for the king to comprehend that he was looking at a cub. Then it hit him. This was his and Nala's cub. They were finally parents. Even though their offspring was right there in front of his very eyes, the fact that he now had a son was difficult for Simba to grasp. "Nala, I…" he fell silent, not sure of what to say. It felt impossible to even try to put how happy he was into words. "He's perfect." The cub had his bright gold fur, and the color of the hair at the tip of his tail was somewhere between the one Nala had to Simba's mane color, making it a brighter, more reddish brown than his mother's. It would take some time for the cub to open his eyes for the first time, though. "Have you thought of a name yet?" He was so overjoyed that their son appeared to be healthy that he didn't mind not picking the name himself. As long as Nala was happy with it, then he would be as well._

_Still smiling warmly at her son, Nala slowly nodded her head. "Kopa." she said as she leaned over and licked the cub, causing him to stir a little at the attention. Simba then went ahead and gently nuzzled the newborn prince, his heart melting upon hearing Kopa mewl in response._

_End flashback_

Simba smiled and continued recalling even more happy memories as he continued making his way towards Pride Rock, not knowing that Zira was there waiting in order to shamelessly tell him something that would shatter his entire world into pieces.

_Later that evening_

"So what I'm trying to say is that we're even now, Simba." said Zira with an expression on her face that showed nothing but amusement and not even the slightest bit of credibility. Grinning a devious grin, the lioness held out a paw forward, as if to shake the king's paw, but the lion didn't move an inch. He's been standing there with a shocked and horrified look on his face from the moment Zira confessed what she and her supporters had done. Scar's devoted follower had taken the liberty of telling him about his son's death because she wanted to be there. She wanted to be there to see him as enraged as she'd been when she found out that Scar was gone.

In a way, this was even better than the reaction she'd hoped to receive. "No hard feelings?" Of course she was lying about being even. Scar would never be avenged so long as Simba lived. But when she'd considered simply waiting for a chance to ambush the king, she realized that simply giving Simba the slow and painful death she so strongly believed he deserved would be like going too easy on someone like him. And since Kopa would have obviously become a threat to the throne Scar had promised to Kovu at some point, why not let the king experience what it was like to lose someone so close to you before ending his life? Little did she remember that Simba had already gone through this before as a cub. Even if she had remembered, tohugh, she probably wouldn't have cared.

Realizing that the king wasn't going to accept her fake truce (not that she'd expected him to) Zira withdrew her paw with a fake sigh of disappointment, only to hold back an evil snicker when she comprehended just what an opportunity she had in front of her. "I see that you're taking it harder than I thought…" she said with forged compassion. Doubting that he would even realize what was going on by the time she sliced his throat, Zira shrugged her shoulders with yet another sigh. "I suppose the least I can do is arrange a family reunion." What made it even more amusing was that, as she said this, Simba remained rooted to the spot. This didn't change even when she raised her paw into the air and unsheathed her claws…

Only to be ever so rudely tackled and pinned to the ground. Quickly regaining her bearings, Zira looked up at her attacker, her expression turning into a frown. "Nala." she said bluntly, raising an eyebrow. To think that she'd been seconds away from truly avenging Scar… What a shame. But nothing could discourage the lioness. There would be other opportunities.

"Zira…" The queen let out a low growl. "Just _what_ do you think you're doing?"

Zira snickered, realizing that her situation wasn't too bad. After all, now she could get to rub Kopa's murder in the face of his mother too. "Why, darling, I was simply thinking of your beloved mate's wellbeing."

"So you say." said Nala with a frown. She's never been too fond of the idea of having Zira around, and what she'd seen just a moment ago was proof that the lioness was nothing but trouble. Oh, but the queen still didn't know just how right she was in having believed that from the very beginning.

"After all," continued Zira with a grin. This was the fun part. "one look at him confirms the fact that he's too much of a wreck…" Nala was silent for a short moment. Why had Simba just stood there, not even reacting to the fact that Zira was about to attack him? She looked at her mate, becoming even more concerned upon seeing the look on his face. He still hasn't budged. "I was simply going to reunite him with his little boy, that's all." continued Zira, looking like she could barely conceal her excitement.

Nala's gaze shifted onto Zira in an instant. "What are you talking about?" she asked, not sure of what to make of her last statement.

"Simba killed Scar." said Zira with a shrug. "So I killed Kopa." The way she spoke so emotionlessly, as if the innocent cub's life was nothing that was even worth mentioning, was what made it an even more devastating blow.

Nala simply stood there for a few moments, unable to believe what she had just been told. "Y-you what?" she asked weakly. Her baby boy? Dead? No, it couldn't be. Zira was lying. However, looking at her mate's expression again and suddenly remembering that Kopa still hasn't returned home despite how late it was, the horror soon began to sink in. Growling in anger, the queen once again looked at Scar's most devoted follower, feeling tears forming in her eyes. "You killed my son?!"

The soon to be outsider had to resist the urge to simply laugh in Nala's face. "Nala, dear, please!" said Zira innocently, ignoring the ferocious glare the queen was giving her. "I simply got even! Besides, this is your fault as much as it is mine."

The first thought that passed through Nala's mind was that she should just tear into Zira's throat right then and there. But she held her emotions in check (as much as she could), knowing that it would make her no better than Zira herself. "What did you say?!" she asked, her voice somewhere between a growl and a roar.

This was just too much fun. Not only was Simba's reaction to the news even more amusing than the reaction Zira had hoped for, now Nala was filling in on the anger part which her mate had left out. "Letting your cub wonder off on his own like that…" she shook her head, as if she was sad. "What a horrible mother you are…"

"You exacted your revenge on a _cub_, Zira!" shouted Nala, barely holding herself back at that point. "This is pure cowardice! He's done nothing wrong to anyone! He hasn't performed a single misdeed in his life!"

"How unfortunate." Zira appeared to be just waiting for Nala to break down, but Nala wasn't going to give her that satisfaction.

Noticing that a few lionesses from the pride had gathered around them because of the commotion, Nala ordered some of them to surround Zira before getting off of her son's murderer. "You will face trial for this murder, Zira." said the queen with pure hatred in her voice. "You and the rest of your mindless followers." It was true that delivering judgment was the king's job, but Nala was simply saying what Simba would have probably said.

"Ooh… _I quiver with fear_…" Zira only laughed with amusement and satisfaction as the lionesses restraining her led her away. It was only after she was gone that Nala allowed herself to collapse and burst into tears.

She spent almost the entire night looking for Kopa. Accompanied by a few lionesses, at first she'd originally asked Simba to come and help them search. But aside from saying that Zira and the rest of her lionesses could not remain within the Pridelands, her mate still hasn't said anything else and ever since they'd returned to the den any attempt to speak with him was met with no response or acknowledgement of any sort.

Because the king remained in the den, Nala figured it would be best to leave most of the pride there as well while she went out to search for their cub. After all Zira may have mocked the fact that she was going to be put on trial, which made it seem like she wasn't going to do anything until the trial and then show up in order to gloat in what she had done some more, but there was no telling what might happen.

The queen's mind still refused to truly believe that her son was truly gone. She searched almost every area of the kingdom and had Zazu help by flying above them. It was only after a few hours of not coming across even the smallest clue that the truth really did sink in. Her son was dead. He was gone and he wasn't coming back. "My baby…" she didn't care that the lionesses with her were watching as the tears once again rolled down her cheeks, "I'm so sorry…"

It was with a heavy heart that Zazu flew throughout the entire kingdom the following morning, this time not in search of Kopa but in order to spread the news. Since Kopa had used to be very fond of getting to know different kinds of animals, he had touched the hearts of the subjects of the Pridelands in a way no other prince or princess have ever done before him. Every single individual that heard of the tragedy, be it directly from Zazu, from a friend or from a relative, was deeply grieved because of the loss. There was no doubt that Kopa would be terribly missed by everyone.

Nala took in a deep breath as she slowly walked towards the tip of Pride Rock. It seemed like all the animals that lived in the Pridelands had already arrived to attend the trial, including Zira and her followers. These lionesses didn't seem to care much about the glares shot in their direction by pretty much every single pair of eyes around them. As for Simba… He was still inside the den. He has been ever since the previous day. Nala had tried talking to him just a few minutes ago, telling him that it was time. However he once again remained unresponsive, and eventually Nala had no choice but to head out there on her own.

The fact that the night had been spent in searching for Kopa followed by futile attempts to get some sleep wasn't helping Nala either. She wished so badly to have Simba there by her side, to not have to look at that wicked monster without his shoulder being there for her to lean on...

Realizing she might as well get it over with before she lost her confidence, Simba's mate let out a loud roar, getting the attention of everyone below and causing all of them to fall silent. This silence was very short lived and was broken by Zira, who burst out with laughter. "What's the matter?" she asked, ignoring the uproar her obvious mockery earned from the crowd. "Where's his majesty?" she added with a sneer.

Nala was in no mood to listen to Zira, and she wanted her gone before she ended up doing something she'd regret later. "Under King Simba's orders, for taking the life of an innocent cub and the prince of this kingdom," she said bluntlly, remembering the one thing Simba had said to her ever since they'd found out about their son while also not caring too much about having skipped the whole 'do you deny these charges' part, "you and your followers are banished from the Pridelands. That is all."

Zira only laughed at this. "You will never drive me off of Scar's lands!"

"Yes we will!" exclaimed a random animal from somewhere behind Zira, causing the entire crowd to shout and yell in agreement. Zira frowned and let out an angry growl. It seemed like there was no choice but to accept the verdict. Even if it weren't for all of the angry animals around them, Zira knew that she and her followers would be easily outnumbered by Simba and his lionesses.

Before the leader of the outsiders could even begin to consider admitting that, for now, she had no choice but to retreat, she remembered her children. They were not with her and the rest of her lionesses, but a devious grin spread across her muzzle as she got an idea. "You can't be seriously suggesting sending my cubs to the outlands…" she said, putting on a fake expression of concern, "There's little food and almost no water…"

This seemed to take Nala by surprise. She'd completely forgotten about Zira's cubs, especially Kovu who had been born only a few days earlier. Simba hadn't said anything about them, but Nala knew that Zira was right. That did in no way mean that the queen didn't realize what Zira was planning. For a moment she hesitated, not knowing whether Simba would approve of what she was about to do, but she quickly pushed that thought asides. They were just children, she said to herself. Simba would do the same thing. "You're right." she said. "That's why I'm giving _you_ a choice. You can leave all three of them with us so that they can have a better future or-"

"Never!" exclaimed Zira, letting out a defiant roar. As if she was going to have Kovu, Scar's heir, be raised by a bunch of pridelanders!

"Then whatever happens to them will be on your conscience." If Zira even had a conscience to begin with, that is. "You can explain to them later why they were forced away from their home. Do not return to the Pridelands," the queen continued, growling down at Zira and her supporters, "or the penalty will be what any other king or queen would have most likely punished you with. You have exactly one hour to leave, and don't even try to play games with me because Zazu will be watching you closely until you're gone."

Nala had thought, or at least hoped, that sending Zira away would make her feel better. That it would ease the pain she was going through. However, as the queen slowly made her way back towards the den, she felt anything but better. Kopa was still gone and nothing would ever bring him back. Feeling herself getting choked up again, the distressed lioness took in a deep breath as she entered the den. "Simba?" she asked quietly, not getting an answer. "It's over… Zira's-" Raising her gaze from the floor, she was horrified to find out that Simba was gone.

**A/N: I don't think it's safe for Simba to wonder off on his own, especially in his condition…**

**So yeah, having Nala be the one to **_**formally**_** banish Zira was something I decided to do in order to make things a little different from your usual Kopa stories… Well, that and other things which you will find out as the story progresses. Since she did act according to what Simba had said before the trial this doesn't contradict that scene in the 2nd movie where Simba is confronting Zira for the first time while Kiara is still a cub and reminding her that he'd banished her from the Pridelands. In a way, he's still the one who banished her.**

**See you guys next time (hopefully in one week and if not then in two)! Make sure to review, please! It won't take you very long but it'll make my day and inspire me to keep writing!**


	5. Coping

**Incarnate Firefly: I'm happy you thought the emotions were well conveyed. This is a Hurt / Comfort themed story after all! I was also upset that Nala had a very little role in the 2nd movie and I must agree with what you said about her willpower.**

**almondbutter: That is true. That's why, in the first chapter, I had Nala remind Simba that his mother hadn't called him an imposter when he returned from his own exile.**

**SlayerOrnstein: I'm glad you still like it!**

**Starzinmieyez: Wow… I think that's the biggest compliment you could have given me.**

Time related notification!

**The Pridelands, back in the present**

With how relieved she was that her son was unharmed, it took Nala a few seconds to realize just how badly she needed to be there with Kopa when he would speak to his father for the first time. Considering the last conversation she's had with Simba as well as the fact that her mate was obviously not thinking clearly at the moment, there was no telling what might happen. Immediately regretting not having run after Kopa right away, even if she did have to instruct Zazu and the two lionesses about what to do about their intruder, the queen took off in the direction of Pride Rock, running as fast as she could.

When she was almost there, she managed to catch a glimpse of her son just as he finished climbing up towards the entrance of the den before entering it and disappearing from her sight. Despite not being that far away from reaching the den herself, she was still worried sick about what might happen during that short period of time. It sometimes amazed Nala how a lot of damage that would take what would seem like forever to undo could be done in a matter of only seconds. If only it were the other way around…

It was with that in mind that she raced up the rocky slope of Pride Rock, at last arriving at the entrance of the cave where all the pridelanders resided. Even though she was quite hesitant about what might be revealed to her upon walking inside, she rushed through the entrance and her anxiety turned out to be coming to life before her very eyes. Kopa was standing a short distance behind his father, who had his back turned on him and was growling. Kiara, who appeared to be too deterred by Simba in order to interfere and Kovu, who seemed like he was trying to wordlessly calm the princess down, were standing somewhere nearby. Upon walking over to her son's side and seeing the expression on his face; a look of pure astonishment, her fear was confirmed. Kopa was being rejected by his own father.

The queen didn't know what to do, but she did know that she had to act before Simba ended up doing something all of them would regret. "Simba…" she said, her voice stern and caring at the same time. Her mate stopped growling. Okay. So she seemed to have Simba's attention. Now what? If anything, Kopa being right next to her was making it even more difficult to try to think of a way to get the king's head out of the clouds.

Boy, was it in the clouds alright. Something about the tone Nala just spoke to him with reminded Simba of yet another memory that still burned fresh in his mind; one that the word shame would not suffice to describe how he had felt about it at the time.

**The Pridelands, right after the exile of Zira and her followers**

This wasn't happening. This _couldn't_ be happening. How could Simba have disappeared? How come he'd vanished right under her nose? Right under _everybody's_ nose? When she'd left the den a few minutes ago to attend the trial of Zira and her lionesses, Simba was still inside the den. Not only had the trial been very short, but how in the name of the Great Kings has nobody noticed him leave? Running back outside, Nala noticed that some of the animals who'd come to attend the trial were still near Pride Rock. Surely somebody must have seen Simba take off! By the looks of it, however, her mate had somehow left Pride Rock without catching the attention of even a single individual.

Another thing that caused Nala to panic even more was the fact that the rest of her pride mates were nowhere to be seen either. They must have followed Zira and the rest of her lionesses to make sure that they really would leave the Pridelands. This meant that, unless she came across another pridelander or Zazu on the way, the queen was pretty much on her own. Looking for Simba alone could definitely end up taking a very long period of time, and there was a pretty big chance that Nala didn't have a lot of time… What if Simba ended up stumbling across one of Zira's followers? Or even worse, what if he ran into Zira herself? Nala had just lost her son; she wasn't going to lose her mate as well.

But where was she supposed to start looking? Simba could be anywhere in the Pridelands. During the night, she'd searched around the entire kingdom for Kopa and that had taken her hours _with_ the help of Zazu and some of the lionesses! How was she supposed to do it all over again and without any assistance? She was just about to run down towards the bottom of Pride Rock and begin her search by picking a random direction, which honestly seemed like the only (and therefore best) option the queen had at the moment, but that was when something made her hesitate.

It was a hot day. Unfortunately, during days like that one, breezes of cool, refreshing wind were not too common. So when a chilly and very brief gust of wind blew through Nala's fur, it obviously caught her attention. She couldn't explain why, but she felt like she needed to follow it - to go in its direction. Despite the urge being completely sudden and unexplainable, the concerned lioness did just that.

_Meanwhile, somewhere else in the Pridelands_

Keep in mind that _Italic - flashback_

Simba slowly took a few more steps forward before coming to a stop. He had no idea why he'd come to that place in particular. Just a few minutes ago he was inside the den staring at the wall before Nala came up to him and said something he couldn't recall. The next thing the king knew, he was making his way outside through a small hole in the back of the den (the very one Kiara would one day use to flee after Kovu's exile) and leaving Pride Rock behind. It's been years since Simba had last been where he now was, and the gorge was as silent as a graveyard.

Just like it had been all that time ago. (I recommend listening to "To Die For" from the soundtrack here – to the part after the stampede itself)

_Simba quickly made his way back down the gorge as the last of the wildebeest scattered. The sound of thundering hooves soon faded away, leaving Simba only with the slight noise caused by his paws as he ran about. Because of all the dust that's been kicked up it was difficult to see and breathe. Coughing a few times, the cub looked around for any sign of his father. "Dad?" he called out, receiving only his own echo as a response._

In a way, it was like the same thing all over again. Emotional scars have always been known to leave a hole in one's heart, one that would often be left wide open for the rest of the unfortunate's life. Some were lucky enough to move on and to find things that would partially fill in for what's been taken away and some, those who were the most unlucky, would have the earth disappear from right underneath them a 2nd time. Simba had lost his son; an innocent cub who'd only begun to live - his entire world. He was taken away from him because of vengeance and jealousy just like his father had been taken away from him. However this time he wasn't the helpless cub he'd been. If only he'd been there when Kopa needed him the most…

_"Dad?" a short silence followed. "Dad, come on…" Little Simba managed to slightly lift Mufasa's muzzle off the ground by pushing his entire body against it, trying to wake him up. His father was the mightiest lion out there! Surely he was going to be okay! "You gotta get up…" To his dismay, however, as soon as he let go, the king's head dropped back to its previous position. "Dad! We gotta go home!" In a desperate last attempt, the cub began to tug on one of his father's ears like he often had when he'd tried to get him to rise in the mornings. But that had no effect either. Not knowing what else to do, Simba began to call out for help._

"Come back…" the king suddenly whispered, barely able to keep his composure at this point. Maybe this really was just a horrible nightmare. Maybe he'd wake up soon and find out that his little boy was okay. "Please… Please come back…" He thought he heard something behind him and turned around, "Kopa?" only to find out that he was still alone in the gorge. Feeling himself getting choked up as tears began to form in his eyes, Simba went ahead and lay down next to an old, familiar looking broken tree, resting his head down on his paws with a heavy sigh.

It was about a minute or two later that Nala found him. Upon seeing and recognizing him she let out a sigh of relief, although it was clear from the look on her face that she was still worried. She hadn't expected Simba to not take the loss of their son hard, but… he was taking it way harder than she thought he would and, because of how it was impossible to even talk to him, it felt like he wasn't the same lion anymore. Coming to a stop some distance behind him, the queen suddenly felt a breeze very similar to the one from earlier. She looked up at the sky for a brief moment, a small smile on her face. "Thank you…" she whispered. Then, after a short hesitation, she approached her mate. "Simba?"

_"Simba… What have you done?"_

Simba's eyes shot wide open and he looked around over his shoulder, expecting to meet the cunning, untrustworthy face of his uncle. However it wasn't Scar who was standing behind him. While this was the first time the king had reacted to anyone who addressed him ever since yesterday, Nala was far from calmed down. Her ears dropped against her head when she saw the look on Simba's face. His expression was so piteous and profound that it was almost unbearable to look at. "Oh, Simba…" she said quietly, a single tear rolling down her cheek as she gently licked him across his muzzle, "Let's go home…"

_"Dad! We gotta go home!"_

"Home?" Simba asked quietly, his voice choked up.

Nala slowly nodded. "Yes…" Even though he was still far from okay, the queen managed to smile softly at the fact that he'd just replied to her. "Let's get out of here."

"Home…" With a few slow nods and what seemed like a lot of effort, Simba shakily rose to his paws. He stood there for a few seconds, as if having forgotten where he was, before slowly walking past Nala. With a heavy sigh she joined him, leading him out of the gorge and back towards the safety of Pride Rock.

_A few days later_

Even though Simba had given off the impression that he was slowly starting to get better back at the gorge, it quickly turned out to not be the case. After he and Nala had gotten out of the gorge and back to the den he'd gone back to his corner in the back, once again not responding to any attempt to speak with him. The lionesses, obviously worried about their king, were also starting to become greatly concerned for their queen. With Simba not able to perform his duties, it was up to Nala to both fill in for him and to continue to act as queen, which included tasks like leading the hunting party.

This created a very tight schedule for Nala. That, added to the fact that she was still grieving because of Kopa's death and worried sick about her mate's well being, rapidly began to take its toll on her. She was overworking herself and, as a result, exhausted. The pride was starting to worry that, unless things somehow changed for the better soon, the kingdom would be in serious trouble. As impressive as the way Nala was coping with everything so far was, they all knew that she would not be able to keep going like that for much longer.

While she was doing her best (and surprisingly succeeding) in making it look like she was okay, for the sake of her pride mates and subjects, the truth was that, from the queen's point of view, everything was falling apart. As time went on, the more helpless she felt. Nala was feeling like she was becoming closer and closer to losing her mind. She needed Simba back. She just couldn't keep doing this on without him.

Nala walked into the den. It was late afternoon and the sun would soon start setting in the west. The lionesses were not inside, meaning that she and Simba were alone. In a way, that was going to make things a little easier. "Simba… We need to talk…" she said quietly, her anguish clear in her voice. She'd tried this countless of times during the course of the past few days, but has so far gotten no results. She didn't know what else to do, which was why she was going to do the one thing her mind could come up with. She was going to beg. "Please, Simba, this can't keep going like this…" The queen knew, as illogical as it could possibly sound, that Simba had little to no control of what he was going through, but that didn't change the fact that she simply couldn't go on without his support.

"I can't take care of this entire kingdom by myself…" she continued, feeling her legs shake as a result of both fatigue and emotional distress, "The Pridelands need you… _I_ need you!" To her horror, however, her mate said nothing. He was so caught up in his own grieving that he his mind couldn't even begin to comprehend what was going on around him. "Simba, at least say something, _please!_ I can't live like this anymore!" Tears began to freely roll down her cheeks as, for what seemed like the millionth time, she got no answer. "_Simba!_" No longer able to keep her composure, she ran off.

Meanwhile, in the area where the lionesses often spent their time whenever there was nothing to do, Sarabi, the former queen of the Pridelands, was lying under the shade of a tree and looking out into the horizon. She too was still devastated by the death of her grandson, Prince Kopa, but at the moment her mind was more troubled because of the condition of her son and daughter in law. All of her attempts to get to Simba had resulted in failure, just like those of Nala and the rest of the pride. Sarabi couldn't help but wonder how things would look like if Mufasa was still alive. Would he know what to do? Would he have ended up in the situation their son was in had Simba died as a result of the stampede all those years ago?

"Oh, Muffy… If only you were here…"

The former queen's train of thought was interrupted when, to her surprise and even shock, she noticed Simba making his way in her direction. It was so unexpected of him that she simply continued to lie there, not sure of what to do or even think. Her son eventually arrived at her side before lying down next to her with an uncertain look on his face. "How are you, mom?" he asked after a few seconds, gently nuzzling the older lioness.

After regaining her bearings, Sarabi returned her son's affection for a brief moment before pulling away so that she could look at him. "How am _I_?" she asked, a worried look on her face. This was pretty much the first opportunity she had to speak to her son after the tragedy that had befallen the Pridelands. "What about you? You've barely eaten anything for days and you haven't spoken to anyone either… Are you okay?"

"I miss him…" said the king with a sigh, looking down at his paws.

"I know you do, Simba." replied his mother with uncertainty in her voice. Knowing how upset Nala has been for the past few days, it was even more confusing that Simba was suddenly there talking to her and not to his mate. Was he even aware of how awful her condition was? It didn't look like he was, and the truth was that the king didn't even remember that his queen had had a breakdown just a few minutes ago. Just as she was about to ask him where Nala was, however, he spoke again.

"There's something I want to tell you…" he said, looking more and more apprehensive by the second, "It's… something I should have said the moment I came back…"

"What is it?" asked Sarabi, completely oblivious as to what that might be.

Simba didn't know where to start. "I…" he paused, trying to think of how to say what he wanted to, "I understand…"

"What do you understand?" asked his mother, sounding even more curious.

"Because I lost Kopa I understand what you felt like after the-" he hesitated, "-after the stampede, and…" The king once again paused as tears formed in his eyes, much to Sarabi's concern. "I just wanted to say that… I'm so sorry!" He the lost control, burying his face in his mother's fur.

Sarabi stared at her son in surprise for a few seconds as his tears soaked her fur before wrapping a foreleg over his quivering body and pulling him closer to her. "Everything's okay…" she said soothingly, still confused. He was a fully grown lion now, but he would always be her little prince and the former queen believed that there was no shame in showing one's emotions. But what was he apologizing for?

"N-no, it's not okay…" he said quietly, managing to get his weeping under control to a certain extent, "I was living the good life out there in the jungle while you and the others were here suffering because of Scar! All of that time you thought I was dead and was going through an even harder time because of it…" Kopa has been gone for only a few days and Simba already couldn't cope with living without him. His mother had had to live with that same misery for much longer! "I'm sorry I've caused you so much pain… I… I should have come back as soon as I was old enough to claim the throne…"

"Oh, Simba…" Sarabi smiled a small smile that was filled with sadness, nuzzling her son in an attempt to calm him down. "If you know what I felt like," she continued after a short silence, causing Simba to remove his head from its spot against her chest so that he could look at her, "then why are you here talking to _me?_" There was a short silence. "Isn't there somebody else you should be with right now?"

Simba silently looked at his mother for a short moment before his eyes grew wide as he suddenly remembered what had happened inside the den just before he came to see his Sarabi. "Nala…" How could he have been such a fool?

**A/N: There! Another chapter completed! I'm glad I've managed to finish writing it this weekend and that there's no need for you guys to wait for an entire week for me to update!**

**This was yet another emotional chapter (one I've thought about and planned out even before beginning to write this story).**

**As always, reviews will be most welcome! Remember, it doesn't take too long to write them but they mean a lot to me!**

**'Till next time! I once again hope to be able to update within a week!**


	6. Fireflies

**A/N: From this point and onwards I'm going to write my answers to your reviews as well as whatever announcements I have at the end of the chapter. I get a feeling the chapters will flow more smoothly if I do that. I'm also going to put a quote from the previous chapter at the beginning of each new one (because I feel like it. I have rights, you know).**

_"Come back… Please… Please come back…"_ -Simba

**Same time where the last chapter left off**

As soon as the events which had occurred inside the den a few minutes earlier returned to his mind, Simba left Pride Rock in search of Nala. Just like her when she'd gone looking for him a few days ago or when she'd gone looking for their son after Zira's confession, he had no idea where to begin his search. His mate could have ran off in pretty much any direction, and the fact that the king was worried sick in light of her condition wasn't making him any calmer.

Despite having been pretty out of it ever since Kopa's death, he wasn't completely clueless. He was well aware of the fact that Nala has been taking care of the Pridelands all by herself for the past few days as well as of the strain it was putting her through. It made Simba feel terrible to know, especially because he's been well aware of what his mate was going through to a certain degree, that he'd been unable to stop wallowing in his own grief quickly enough in order to support her sooner. After all they'd both lost their son; he wasn't the only one who was suffering. He knew more than well that he should have been there for her from the moment they'd discovered the fate of their cub. But instead, his queen ended up being the only one who was there for him and did not receive the devotion the king knew she deserved and needed more than anything.

With Pride Rock left behind, Simba decided his best option would be to check specific areas and landmarks in the Pridelands. He checked all the waterholes and even the gorge (despite really not wanting to ever go there again), but he couldn't find Nala anywhere. This made the king of Pride Rock even more worried, and he was slowly starting to fear that he wouldn't find her before something bad happen (he didn't know what could possibly happen as long as she remained inside the Pridelands, but he still had a very bad feeling). There was also the possibility that she'd left the kingdom's territory, but Simba hoped with all his heart that she hasn't.

Just as he was starting to lose all hope ever seeing his mate again (as drastic and exaggerated as it may sound), Simba could suddenly see Zazu flying overhead. He called out to his majordomo, who looked at him a little dumbstruck for a moment. "Simba?" he called back, flying over to the king. The hornbill looked very surprised to discover that Mufasa's son was out of the den and, well… functioning…

"Have you seen Nala anywhere?" asked Simba, the urgency noticeable in his tone. To his dismay, however, Zazu shook his head. Where could she have possibly gone to? As discouraging as the hornbill's lack of knowledge was, there was no doubt that it would be way easier to find Nala with his help. "Help me find her! Please, it's an emergency!"

Zazu looked a little shocked. Simba was the king! Since when did he have to say please? This only made Zazu realize just how desperate Simba was to find Nala. That, added to the fact that the hornbill was well aware of how stressed the queen's been recently (being the majordomo), made him realize what must have happened. "Y-yes! At once! Of course!"

It took the two of them what felt like forever, but they eventually managed to track Nala down. She'd taken refuge in a small, random cave somewhere out in the savannah. In fact, Simba and Zazu would have most likely passed by the cave without realizing she was there if it weren't for the fact that she was crying uncontrollably. Simba came to a halt, his ears dropping against his head. Hearing her like that while knowing that it was all his fault made the king want to disappear. But he couldn't allow himself to disconnect from the world like he unintentionally had before. Never again. Nala needed him.

"Thank you, Zazu…" said Simba quietly, looking up at his majordomo. "I'll take it from here…" He could see that Zazu looked a little reluctant to leave. While he genuinely admired and appreciated the hornbill's concern and dedication, this was something Simba knew he had to do on his own. After his majordomo had taken his leave, the king of Pride Rock cautiously approached the entrance of the small den Nala was in. He froze when he saw her, once again becoming rooted to the spot.

She looked so miserable and had every reason to be miserable. Her son was dead, she had an entire kingdom resting on her fragile shoulders and, to top it all off, her mate's condition almost made it feel like he was dead as well. Simba stood there for what felt like a very long moment. As unbearable as watching and hearing Nala cry was, he just couldn't get himself to approach her. It was only when his own eyes started to water at the sight of his weeping mate that Simba managed to take the first step forward and enter the den.

He slowly approached her, not knowing what to say but at the same time knowing that he had to say _something_ before he lost what little confidence he had altogether. "Nala?" he started softly, getting the queen's attention.

She stopped crying at the sound of his voice. An expression of surprise appeared on her face as she raised her head from her paws, looking at him. "S-Simba?" Like Zazu, Nala probably hadn't expected to see him outside of the den back at Pride Rock.

Once again hesitating, Simba took a few more steps towards her. "H-how are you feeling?" he asked, not knowing what else to say.

"What do you think?" retorted Nala in a shaky tone, causing her mate to wince slightly. Yes, she knew that Simba couldn't entirely be blamed for what had happened, but she didn't seem to care anymore.

"Nala, I… I'm really-"

"I understand that this is hard for you, Simba," said Nala, cutting him short, "I really do… But couldn't you at least talk to me?"

"I-"

"Why didn't you say something? I've had enough going on without having to be constantly worried about you!" Nala didn't shout but she did raise her voice a little, causing Simba to take a single step backwards. "Couldn't you just let me know that you were there? Was it that hard to talk about what had happened? Why did you keep ignoring me?"

"I…" The king let out a sigh, looking down at the floor. He didn't have an answer. "I don't know…"

"Was it because I _wouldn't understand_?"

Simba's eyes widened in shock when she said that. He looked back into Nala's accusing eyes, feeling at a complete loss for words. "Nala…"

_Flashback_

_"Simba, if you don't do something soon, everyone will starve!"_

_"I can't go back…"_

_"Why?"_

_"You wouldn't understand…"_

_"What wouldn't I understand?" Nala asked with a frown as Simba got off his vine hammock and began to walk away. She followed him, trying to figure out what was going on in his head. What reason could he possibly have for refusing to come back and save his homeland and his mother? What happened to the Simba she knew who just couldn't wait to be king?_

…

…

_"You don't even know what I've been through!"_

_"I would if you'd just tell me!"_

_"Forget it!"_

_End flashback_

"How could you think I'd turn my back on you like that?" asked Nala as tears began to form in her eyes. "How could you think that what you believed was only an _accident_ at the time would cancel out everything between us after what happened in the jungle?" Simba's gaze once again dropped to the floor. He knew exactly what she was talking about. "I thought you'd never shut me out again like that, Simba. We're supposed be able to talk to each other when we need each other. Things like this shouldn't be happening…"

Simba let out a sigh of defeat. As much as it hurt to hear her say what he knew was right he wasn't going to try and stop her from saying what she wanted to say. He deserved to have the truth thrown at his face after what he'd put her through. "I know…"

"Then why do I feel so alone?"

Hearing Nala's voice break up a little towards the end, Simba once again looked her in the eyes. She looked so hurt and he wanted to take it all back, but he knew he couldn't. He wanted to look away again, but he didn't dare to. It was then that it hit him. "I'm really sorry, Nala…" he said quietly, his voice choked up. "I don't know what came over me, I swear… You're right… You-" he hesitated for a brief moment. "You…" A lioness like her deserved somebody who'd always be there to support her. "You deserve someone better than me as your mate… I'm not good enough for you…"

As much as Simba wanted to make it all up to Nala – to prove to her that he could and would be there for her in the future – he felt as if it was too late for that. He'd messed up badly and he knew it. With a heavy sigh, the king turned to take his leave, his head held low in shame. "Simba, wait!" He was, in fact, so slow in turning back around that he only saw Nala a mere second before she reached him and tackled him to the ground. She hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go as she fought back her tears. "Don't go! Please… Don't leave me…"

Simba simply lay there in shock for a few moments. She wanted him to stay? "B-but-"

"I don't care…" said Nala softly, cutting him short. How could he say that he didn't deserve her? She loved him more than anything and knew that he loved her just as much, even if he did make a mistake. It was only after she'd watched him express how ashamed he was that she realized she was too happy to have him back in order to care about the events of the past few days. "I just want you back, Simba…"

Even though he still felt terrible about his actions, a small smile found its way onto Simba's muzzle as he embraced Nala and held her close. "I'm so sorry, Nala…" he said, licking the tears off her cheek as they looked into each other's eyes. "I promise you, so long as I live, something like this will never happen again... I'll prove myself to you, you'll see." This feeling as if he had almost lost Nala for good was still stuck in his head, but he managed to ignore it. "You mean so much to me, Nala… You're an amazing lioness and it's a privilege to be your mate... Everything will be different from now on. Just you wait."

For the first time since their son had died Nala was feeling like everything was going to be alright. She finally had the love of her life back. She allowed a playful smile to form on her muzzle. "You're lucky I love you, you silly buffoon…" For a moment she appeared to be thinking about something. Would now be a good time to tell him? It felt as good a time as any.

"I love you too…" replied Simba, smiling warmly at his queen.

"…and that I'm pregnant…"

**The Pridelands, back in the present**

That was why. Simba had promised himself he'd never let Nala get hurt like that again. Not on his life. And one rogue who had the nerve to just barge into their home while claiming to be their son wasn't going to change that. He wasn't going to let him hurt Nala by making her live in a lie. The king's expression turned into a frown as he slowly turned around to look at her and at their son's supposed imposter. "Why are you doing this?" he asked, his voice a growl. "Just who do you think you are?" What made this rogue think he had the right to just rub the tragedy that had almost taken Nala away from Simba for good in the face of the entire kingdom?

Nala looked like she was about to say something, but it wasn't Simba who cut her short this time. Kopa beat him to it. "It's okay, mom…" he said quietly, giving her a small smile of reassurance while ignoring the fact that it only seemed to make Simba angrier. Taking in a deep breath, he looked at his father. "Do you remember the last night we spent together, when we saw each other for the last time?" he asked. This question seemed to take the king of Pride Rock completely by surprise. Nala smiled as she realized what her son was doing. He was going to tell Simba something only the real Kopa would know. Kopa smiled a soft smile. "Do you remember the fireflies?"

_Flashabck_

_"So whenever you feel alone I'd like you to remember that these kings will always be there to guide you." said Simba with a smile as he looked up at the stars and recalled how his own father had appeared before him once. "When my time comes, so will I."_

_"Wow…" Simba couldn't help but chuckle at his son's reaction. The cub was lying in his mane just like Simba had lain in his father's mane back at the time. "Really?"_

_"Yes."_

_"That sounds really weird…" said Kopa as he blinked a few times. The prince always seemed to look for logic in everything, and having somebody who was dead look down on him and even guide him from the stars didn't make a lot of sense._

_"It's true." said Simba with yet another chuckle. His son's undying desire to have everything make sense was a part of the curiosity the cub had which reminded the king so much of what he'd been like back when he was a cub himself. It was what made Kopa take interest and express that interest by asking questions. "It happened to me before."_

_This seemed to catch Kopa's attention. Sure, what his father had just told him sounded quite peculiar, but surely it was real if Simba was saying that he'd experienced it himself. "Really?" he asked, obviously dying to hear. "What happened?"_

_"My father came to me and set me back on the right track…" said his father with a sigh. Ever since that conversation he's dearly hoped for another chance to speak to Mufasa again, but so far there hasn't been one. Regardless of that, Simba felt happy to know that his father was still looking down on him and that he was proud of him._

_"That's so cool…" said Kopa, causing Simba to laugh a short laugh._

_"I suppose 'cool' is one way to describe it."_

_"Do you think I'll get to speak to Grandpa Mufasa one day?" Kopa has heard so many stories and good things about Mufasa. Since the cub was determined to become the best king he could be, getting guidance from someone as great as his grandfather was going to help him a lot, not to mention that it would be a huge honor as well._

_"Perhaps." said Simba with a smile. He raised an eyebrow as Kopa suddenly jumped off his head and landed in front of him, chuckling as the cub turned around and growled playfully at him while assuming a fighting stance. It looked like somebody wanted to play. The king grinned down at his son in a taunting manner. Kopa was just so small and he couldn't help himself._

_Surely enough, this only made Kopa's cubbish growling become even louder. He pounced at his father, landing in the king's mane and nibbling on one of his ears. It was more of a display of affection rather than anything else, really. However, since he was still a cub on the inside to a certain extent, Simba just couldn't resist the urge to pin Kopa to the ground with one of his paws. He grinned down at the now helpless cub, who looked up at him with the most innocent expression in the world, before leaning over and giving the prince a big, affectionate lick across his tiny face. "Eww, dad!" Simba laughed as his son began to squirm about, unable to break free. "Gross!"_

_"You don't seem to mind it when your mother bathes you." said Simba with a playful grin as he licked Kopa once more. "As a matter of fact you like it."_

_"That's because she doesn't mess up my mane!" protested his son, still trying to break free from the king's grasp. After licking him one more time Simba finally let Kopa go, chuckling to himself as the prince did his best to tidy up the reddish-brown tuft of hair on his head with one of his little paws. The cub looked like he was about to carry on complaining, but something seemed to catch his attention. "Wow! Dad, look! I didn't know the stars could descend all the way to us!" Kopa ran past his father, causing Simba to look around. "Maybe it's grandpa!"_

_Simba smiled as he realized what his son was looking at. Had the same happened to him when he was that age, he would have probably made the same mistake. "These are not stars, Kopa." he said, walking over to his son and sitting down behind him._

_"But they look just like stars!" said Kopa, looking at the fireflies that were flying about peacefully around them._

_"They're called fireflies."_

_"Fireflies?"_

_"Yes." said Simba. Obviously fascinated by these fireflies, which he'd never seen before, the prince lay down in the grass and reached out with his paws towards a few. "Be careful now." instructed his father. "They're delicate."_

_Kopa looked at Simba for a brief moment, giving him a slow nod of approval. After all, the last thing he wanted was to accidentally harm another living creature, no matter how small it was. So instead of doing anything that might accidentally result in him swatting any of the fireflies, he simply stared in awe as a few of them hovered peacefully between his paws._

_End flashback_

Kopa looked at his father and his father looked back at him. Simba appeared to be rather speechless and the den was completely silent as everybody else awaited his reaction. The king still remembered the last moments he'd spent with his son as if they'd only taken place yesterday. His doubts and confusion began to melt away as his mind came to terms with the fact that only his son would have been able to give a recap of the night they'd spent under the stars. "I-i-is it really you?" he asked at last, his voice a whisper. Those familiar looking eyes really did belong to his little boy. Kopa slowly nodded, the smile on his muzzle becoming a little wider. "You're alive…"

"Hello dad…" Kopa took a few steps forward, tears of joy forming in his eyes. Finally, after all of this time…

"You're here…" said Simba, as if to get himself to believe it, as he closed the remaining distance between the two of them and embraced his son. Nala smiled and let out a sigh of relief when Kopa did the same.

"Yeah, dad…" Kopa had a hard time believing that the feeling of his father's warm fur against his was real as the tears began to roll down his cheeks. "I'm home…"

**A/N: Yes, that scene of cub Kopa and Simba together was inspired by the cover photo (which, I will once again say, I did not draw and do not own).**

**I'm sorry it took me two weeks instead of one this time. Military and all that nonsense…**

**Starzinmieyez****: Yes, she does.**

**Incarnate Firefly****: The previous chapter was a chapter I'd really looked forward to writing. I'm glad that the things I wanted to emphasize have stood out.**

**Kusa****: That's something I'm glad I manage to do! Thanks!**

**Thirsty19****: Thank you, that's great to hear!**

**SlayerOrnstein****: I really wanted to add that bit with Sarabi; it felt necessary to me.**

**TomMaier****: It's been a while since you've left a review! Thanks, I hope to see more!**

**A/N: As of when I've posted this chapter (chapter 6) this story has 11 favorites, 12 follows and 22 reviews! That's really amazing for a 5-chapters long story! Thanks a lot everyone, you guys are awesome!**


	7. Family

_"Do you think I'll get to speak to Grandpa Mufasa one day?"_ –Cub Kopa

**Where we left off… :)**

Both Nala and Kiara looked on with relief as Kopa finally reconciled and reunited with his father. They'd both been worried sick about how things would turn out upon finding that Simba's was quite… disbelieving, to say the least, that his son was alive. It was also not very pleasant to actually watch Simba come very close to sending Kopa away. Nala didn't know what she would have done if things had gotten out of hand. She sure was grateful that her son had come up with the idea of telling the king something only the real Kopa would have been able to tell him.

But was the drama really over and done with? Yes, the prince looked as happy as he's ever been since returning to the Pridelands, but was he really okay with the way his father had initially rejected him like that? He probably wasn't very thrilled about it, which would be completely understandable if it turned out to be the case, but what Nala and Kiara were really wondering was whether he was going to never mention it again just like that or whether Simba's behavior would somehow come back to all of them like a boomerang in the future.

"But…" Simba was the one to eventually break the silence inside the den. He slowly pulled back from his and Kopa's embrace so that he could look at his son, his expression a look of confusion and curiosity. "How can this be?" He very seriously doubted Zira had spared the prince's life all that time ago. How could a cub have possibly survived getting attacked by a fully grown lioness? Where had he been all of this time? Why didn't he come back sooner than he had? It's not that Simba wasn't happy to find out that his son wasn't dead, but that didn't change the fact that Kopa's presence still made no sense at all.

A small smile once again found its way to Kopa's muzzle. He knew his family would want to know everything and, now that his father was finally awake, out of harm's way and thinking clearly, it seemed like a good time to tell them. "I haven't the faintest idea, actually." he said with a chuckle, much to the surprise of Simba, Nala, Kiara and Kovu. His survival was still shrouded in mystery even to him. The prince was also still unaware as to how he'd ended up where he had after Zira's attack. "I can relate everything else, though, if you would like to hear it."

Saying that Kopa's family wanted to know what had been of him during, well, pretty much his entire life, would be an understatement. They were dying to know. The other lionesses and the entire kingdom all had so many questions that haven't been answered yet even though Kopa's been back in the Pridelands for about three days already. Kiara, more than anybody else, just couldn't wait to hear what he would tell them as she recalled a very short conversation she'd had with her brother only yesterday while their father was still unconscious.

_Flashback_

_It's been a day since the battle against the outsiders. For Kiara, it felt like even years wouldn't be enough for her to get over what had happened. Yes, her father was alive and she was grateful for that because she knew how he'd almost died, but she still doubted she'd be able to forget everything. She doubted she'd forget the horror of believing that she and Kovu were about to peacefully end the feud for good, only to have it all blow up in their faces. To actually have the outsiders attack Kovu and Vitani, their own pridemates, as if they were complete strangers. Then when Zira…_

_The princess shook her head, managing to somehow interrupt her own train of thoughts before her emotions got out of hand. They were all safe now, she reassured herself, at least for the time being. This made her think of the moment when, after she'd lost all hope, her brother came… Her brother… She didn't know much about him, having not been told much other than the fact that Zira had supposedly murdered him – resulting in her and her followers becoming outcasts. In her curiosity in the past she had asked some of the lionesses questions about him; not about his death but about his life and who he'd been._

_But she didn't know where Kopa had been all these years and, even if she did know some details as to what he was like as a cub, at the end of the day, the two of them were complete strangers (blood connection aside). Kiara slowly made her way up the rocky slope of Pride Rock, eventually arriving at the entrance of the den. There, to her surprise, she saw Vitani. Wasn't she supposed to be with the hunting party? The princess slowly approached Kovu's sister who, surprisingly enough, didn't hear her. Stopping behind her, she noticed that the former outsider was looking at Kopa who, as Kiara had anticipated, was still lying by Simba's side._

_"Uh…" Vitani's head immediately spun around upon hearing Kiara's voice. "Is something wrong, Vitani?" Perhaps it was just a hunch, but the princess had a feeling that something was up._

_"No!" said Vitani, not raising her voice but still sounding somewhat defensive. Then, much to Kiara's confusion, she left without saying another word._

_Not knowing what to think of what had just happened, Kiara went ahead and turned her attention back to the den and to her father and brother. Kopa seemed to have not heard the two lioness's very brief interaction and it didn't look like he knew that his sister was there. With the exception of him and their father, the den was empty. The princess slowly walked inside with the intention of checking up on Simba, coming to a stop a short distance away from her brother. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She felt like saying something to her Kopa, but nothing came out of her mouth when she opened it. Just what would she say to him, exactly?_

_Not even looking at him, she continued to stare down at her paws for a few moments and was about to leave the den when his voice reached her ears. "Hey."_

_Kiara's ears, having been flat against her head the entire time, stood erect as she heard him talk to her. Kopa had a small smile spread across his muzzle, but the concern for their father was still evident in his expression. "He-hey me?" Well played… Who else could he possibly be talking to? "Oh! Um… hey?"_

_A short silence followed. Kopa continued to smile up at his sister while Kiara still had a somewhat nervous look on her face. "I guess this is us actually meeting each other for the first time in our lives, huh?" asked the prince at some point, feeling like the silence was getting a little too awkward for his liking._

_"Yeah… So it seems…" said Kiara, slowly nodding her head as her eyes locked onto Simba's sleeping form. "Not under the most pleasant circumstances, unfortunately…"_

_Still smiling, Kopa also looked at their father. To think that he was so close to losing him just when he was going to get him back… No, now was not the time to get all emotional. The king was going to be okay; that was all that mattered. "Something's on your mind." he said. Yes, he could tell that she was somewhat nervous around him, but so was he around her (even if he wasn't showing it). For some reason he doubted she was bothered solely because of their father's condition._

_"I…" Kiara let out a sigh, lying down next to her brother. "It's just that I thought…" her voice broke off towards the end, causing Kopa to look at her with concern as she shook her head a few times. "I thought Kovu and I would be able to get through to them…" She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. "This whole rivalry is just a big joke… We're really not different at the end of the day." Once again she could feel herself becoming uneasy, but she didn't care. "We all have eyes, and… and ears and feelings and everything else… If we'll hurt each other we'll all bleed… What actual difference is there between us all?"_

_The princess opened her eyes, staring at a wall of the den. "To think that…" Again she had to take a deep breath in order to calm herself down. "To think that dad was willing to let it all go… After what Zira had done to you! What is wrong with them?!" The more she tried to figure out the outsider's reasons for acting so absent mindedly the bigger of a headache it gave her. All of a sudden she felt something on her shoulder and saw that Kopa had placed a paw on her._

_"I agree with you." he said with a kind smile. This seemed to surprise Kiara. She'd expected him to feel somewhat reluctant about ending the division between the two prides. "You and Kovu did the right thing… Violence isn't the answer."_

_"It never is…" said his sister with a sigh. While finding some comfort in her brother's words, the princess was still far from calm. "Do they even know what mom and dad have been through because of Zira's actions?" It was true that, a few days after Kopa's "death", Simba and Nala had worked things out between them, but that certainly wasn't the end of it all. Not having their son in their lives remained a fact which continued to pain them every day. Kiara looked at her brother. He'd probably figured that out himself, but she still felt like telling him. "Mom told me that, after you… well, died, dad was a complete wreck…"_

_Kopa's smile turned into a smaller, sadder one. He looked back at Simba before saying something Kiara hadn't expected him to say. "So was I…"_

_End flashback_

Kiara remembered trying to get Kopa to explain what he meant, but their conversation had pretty much ended after that point. Just what had he meant by that? Perhaps she would find out now. "But first things first," continued the prince, rising to his paws from his sitting position in front of his father, his eyes still locked with Simba's. "I believe you haven't eaten or had any water in like, what? Three days?" Simba rubbed the back of his head with a paw. With all that's been going on he'd completely forgotten about something as basic as that, but all of a sudden he was realizing just how hungry and thirsty he actually was. But he said nothing. The situation still felt a little weird and he couldn't think of anything to say.

Still smiling happily, Kopa repositioned himself so that he was standing right by his father's side. Simba was still weak after his battle against Zira and he still needed help in order to keep his balance. "Come on, let's get you to the waterhole first."

Nala watched with a smile as her mate, son, and daughter slowly made their way out of the den with Simba leaning against Kopa for support. Kovu tagged along as well, although it would be a lie to say that he didn't feel a little out of place. However, what with the outsider that could possibly still be in the Pridelands, he felt like he should go with Kiara. The queen quietly followed her family outside where she found Zazu making his way towards her. The hornbill soon landed on her shoulder, looking just as thrilled by the sight of the king and the prince together as she was. "What did you find?" asked Nala, still smiling despite the fact that she was asking her majordomo whether he'd seen the outsider that had infiltrated their territory again or not.

"No sign of her anywhere within the Pridelands, your majesty." said Zazu with a satisfied nod of his head. "If you don't mind me saying, I must point out that this is a quite the sight for sore eyes."

Nala slowly nodded her head in agreement. "It's still a little hard to grasp the fact that he's been alive all these years…"

"I know this might sound like a very personal question, Nala," said Zazu, who was clearly curious out of his mind. "but where has he been all of this time?"

"I don't know yet, Zazu." replied the queen with sigh of content. By that point Simba, Kopa, Kiara and Kovu had already made their way down Pride Rock (ever so slowly and carefully, of course). "But I have a feeling we're going to find out soon." She then began to follow them with Zazu still perched on her shoulder. "Keep an eye out while we go to the waterhole." she said, her tone calm but commanding. The hornbill caught her drift and took off into the air. "Make sure there aren't any unwanted guests we don't know about."

The majority of the walk to the waterhole was spent in complete silence. Nobody said anything for quite a while until Simba finally spoke. "I… I still can't believe you're here…" he said, looking at Kopa in the corner of his eyes as the younger lion helped him walk. "I thought we'd lost you…"

His son smiled warmly at him. "Well you gave me quite a fright yourself…" he said, his voice trailing off as he once again looked at where they were going. The prince couldn't remember ever being as enraged as he'd been when he thought he'd just lost his father.

_Flashback_

_Zira had waited so long for this moment, but she would have never imagined that she would enjoy it so much. Having Simba lie there helplessly, at her mercy, as her jaws clamped around his neck… Tasting his warm, thick, blood… Hearing Nala's desperate cry and knowing that, no matter how hard they all tried, they still lost. Scar's most devoted follower almost felt like she was dreaming. She was in a state of pure bliss, which was unfortunately interrupted almost as soon as it had begun._

_Before she even had the chance to realize what was happening she found herself pinned onto her back. Her attacker's claws dug into her shoulders as he held her firmly against the ground, drawing blood. Regaining her bearings, the leader of the outsiders looked up with a snarl and saw what had to be the angriest pair of eyes she's ever looked into in her entire life. For a moment she thought she was looking at Simba, but that was impossible. Simba was dead. She'd just killed him. If it weren't for this unknown lion pinning her down, she would have laughed like there was no tomorrow._

_Kopa too felt like it was all a dream. There he was, face to face with the lioness who'd almost killed him and would gladly have his throat sliced; only that this time she was at _his_ mercy rather than the other way around. All of a sudden he remembered his father. No… He couldn't be dead… Kopa refused to believe that he's gone through everything he's gone through in his life just to have his father taken away from him by the same lioness who'd separated them in the first place. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you apart…" he said, his voice a dangerously low growl._

_Zira meanwhile was wondering why not even a single one of her pride mates was coming to her aid. They were all rooted to their spots in shock. Hmph. Useless idiots. "Who the hell are you?!" she snarled, already unable to wait to tear at the imbecile who thought he had the right to interrupt her moment of victory._

_Simba's son didn't seem to be too surprised when Zira didn't recognize him. In a way, he'd seen it coming. "Why don't you take a close look?" he dared her, looking her straight in the eyes. It took Kovu's mother a few seconds, but she seemed to finally put the pieces together. How could this be? It couldn't be! She killed him! A cub couldn't have possibly survived! Before she could say anything, however, she was knocked unconscious when Kopa's paw slammed against the back of her head._

_Not wasting a single moment, Kopa left her limp body behind and walked over to his father. His heart sank as he saw his mother standing next to Simba, begging him to wake up. But the king didn't budge. It's been such a long time since he'd seen both of his parents and, even though his mother was perfectly alright, he felt anything but happy to see her. How could he be happy if he'd just lost his father? Nala seemed to tense up when he approached, but he didn't stop. "W-who are you?" she asked, her voice choked up and her eyes filled with tears._

_It was then that Kopa became aware of the fact that, despite how he'd just knocked their leader out cold, the outsiders were pretty amused and even encouraged by the sight of the fallen king before them. He growled loudly and, surprisingly enough, that silenced them. Then, coming to a halt next to Simba, the prince finally looked at Nala. Would she recognize him after all of this time? He had no idea and he felt ashamed to think that it didn't seem to really matter. "It's me…" he said at last, unable to think of another choice of words._

_The queen looked at her son for a brief moment before finally realizing why he looked so familiar. However, Vitani actually beat her to it in saying the single word they both wanted to say. "Kopa?" she asked, a small smile on her muzzle._

_To her horror, however, she then saw that her mother was back on all fours and that she looked like she's never felt more alive and ready to kill. Zira pounced. Her enraged expression turned into shock when, just as she was about to reach the son of her nemesis, he turned around and struck her across the muzzle with the back of his paw. She flew aside because of the force of the blow, landing next to some of her followers with a loud thud. "Coward." Kopa growled, a hint of disgust in his voice._

_End flashback_

After quite a while (having spent a lot of time in walking to the waterhole and back), the group arrived back at Pride Rock. Nala was happy to find out that the two antelope the hunting part had brought back earlier that day were still there. Yes, one of them had been pretty much devoured, but the other one was untouched. The lionesses must have chosen to leave it that way upon finding out that their king was finally awake after he hasn't eaten for a few days. Making herself a mental note to thank them later, the queen looked at her mate with a smile. "You should eat." Their son seemed to have read her mind because he was already helping Simba approach the carcass.

He helped him lie down next to it and then stayed by Simba's side as the king dug in, smiling when Nala joined them by resting down next to him. It felt really strange to be lying between his mother and father after all these years but, at the same time, Kopa couldn't be happier. "Your mane's a little messy…" said his mother, smiling and chuckling.

"Really?" asked Kopa, his eyes darting upwards even though it was impossible for him to get a good look at his mane without seeing his reflection in water. He grinned at his mother. The truth was that he actually always kept his mane tidy and well groomed, something which probably wouldn't surprise either one of his parents if he told them. However, he decided to play along. "Dear me."

Even though he saw it coming, the prince couldn't help but feel embarrassed when Nala began to lick different parts of his mane, as if to clean it up. "Mom…" he complained, but other than that made no effort to stop her. She only smiled and continued. Now that things have calmed down a little, it was time for her to get all clingy towards her son. She had a lot of catching up to do.

"Nala." Kopa couldn't help but grin as he heard his father's voice. "He's an adult now. He can do that himself, don't you think?"

"You're next." said his mate simply, causing their son to laugh a short laugh.

Kopa looked at his father in the corner of his eye. "Psst! I'll distract her while you run…"

"I can't… I can barely walk!" They both laughed. Nala rolled her eyes, although she couldn't keep herself from smiling. Now she had _two_ overgrown cubs to take care of.

"I'll help you walk while Kopa distracts her." said Kiara, who simply couldn't help herself from joining in. Alright, so she had _three_ overgrown cubs to take care of…

Even though Kovu was finding the situation to be a little strange, he couldn't help but feel happy for Kiara. The last 3 days hadn't been easy for her, and he was glad to see that things were finally starting to become less hectic. Although, as he looked at Nala bathe her son, he couldn't help but feel a slight pang of jealousy. His own mother has never shown him even the smallest sign of love or care. Not even once. But that didn't bother him _too_ much. After the way she'd tried to kill him and Vitani… She was no mother of his. As Kiara, the lioness who actually did love and care for him, lay down beside her father, he went ahead and lay down next to her.

"So, Kopa…" said Kiara after a short silence with a small smile on her face, unable to ignore her curiosity any longer, "Are you going to tell us where you've been and what you've been up to or not?" Her brother appeared to be a healthy, well built young lion. That certainly hasn't come to be just like that. In addition to that, a cub couldn't have possibly survived to reach adulthood on his own. The princess was obviously dying to know, as were their parents. While Kovu had a somewhat indifferent look on his face, he was intrigued as well.

"Okay then." said Kopa with a smile, "That's what I'll do. I'll you a story."

**A/N: Another chapter completed!**

**Kiara needed some screen time (you will see more of her – have no fear)!**

**Also, yeah… A little family moment in the end there. I thought it would be cute. Now it's time to hear Kopa's side of his death.**

**Incarnate Firefly****: I'm glad you thought the previous chapter was touching! That flashback with Simba and cub Kopa was supposed to be adorable!**

**Starzinmmieyez****: Hooray!**

**TomMaier****: And I'm looking forward to updating. Thanks! :)**

**A/N: Again, I'm very grateful to those of you who review! If you want feel free to tell your friends about this story, review and other stuff… See you next time!**


	8. The Tazua Pride

**A/N: The word 'Tazua' is actually a name of an African waterfall that I've randomly chosen. You'll see why soon enough.**

"_Violence isn't the answer._" –Kopa

"_It never is…_" -Kiara

Chapter 7 – The Tazua Pride

**Somewhere far away from the Pridelands – after the exile of Zira and the rest of Scar's followers**

The sun was slowly beginning to rise over an unfamiliar land – distanced away from the territory that was known by many as the Pridelands. Well, known by many who lived around the particular area of the home of the pridelanders, that is. Despite the rather epic history of the kingdom, that was all it was at the end of the day – just a kingdom. There were many others out there spread all across Africa and Pride Rock was just another one of them, left out of the prospect of existence by those who knew nothing of it.

A pair of red, amber eyes shot wide open and instinctively scanned everything that was in their view. Since he was lying on his side, though, that wasn't much; some grass and the still orange-hued early morning sky. Not enough in order to determine one's location, that's for sure. There weren't any noticeable landmarks in his sight. Prince Kopa's eyes slowly began to lose their focus as his eyelids dropped half closed – but he forced them open as he suddenly remembered, panicking.

The cub made an effort to rise to his paws, but was met with almost no results except the slight raising of his head off the ground as his body protested at the effort it was being forced to make. A wave of sharp pain shot through him and he grunted in discomfort, his head dropping back down on the grass. There was no particular area in his form that hurt more than the others. His entire being was in agony. It was almost as if his body had forgotten its predicament until that attempt to move was made – causing his aching bones and bruises to signal the injured prince of their existence.

Aside from the pain Kopa was able to register more feelings; fear, weakness and an overall sense of helplessness. He was able to recall what had happened and, of course, thought that he was still in danger. Tears of terror formed in his eyes as his pupils darted from one spot to another in a frenzy, his breathing intensifying in frequency but becoming shorter in length as he lay there. To his further confusion and fear, however, nothing was happening. Why wasn't Zira finishing what she'd started? Had somebody stopped her?

Still as terrified as he'd been from the moment the sadistic lioness had landed the first blow, the prince risked trying to call out for help. He tried to call out to his parents, but all that came out was a weak and pathetic sounding whimper. Kopa did not understand it that way, but his body was drained both physically – because of the wounds and blood loss – and mentally – because of the shock and trauma. As the weakness began to slowly overtake him, he once again tried to call out for help but with no results, becoming more and more frightened as his vision became blurrier with every passing second that went by, eventually fading out altogether.

It was not a lot of time later, in another part of the land, that the sound of cubbish laughter filled with excitement was heard coming from inside a den. This relatively large den was located on top of a tall, though not steep hill in the middle of the savannah. To the east were wide open fields with nothing that could obscure the sun, thus providing a clear view of it from the very first moment of sunrise. To the north and the south the landscape was more varied – consisting more of hills, small valleys and other landmarks like caves, trees and small waterholes. The northern border of the kingdom was marked by a large cluster of trees – also known as a forest. Forests were very uncommon in Africa, making this particular area a very unique spot indeed. The southern edge of the territory was quite impossible to not identify, being a range of steep hills that seemed impossible to climb.

This range connected to the western border, which happened to be the most fascinating sight around for miles (possibly rivaling Pride Rock and even the view one could get when sitting at the very summit of the unusual stone formation). To the west of the den was a large mountain, majestic and breathtaking in size and form. It had trees and grass spread out on different parts of it, the others left naked and visible as the gray, solid stone that was the mountain itself. While climbable, it looked quite difficult to navigate without prior knowledge because it consisted of nooks, crannies and even tunnels.

However, the most fascinating visual aspect of the mountain was the wide river running from somewhere near its summit, turning into a waterfall somewhere beneath half of the mountain's height. This waterfall fell all the way down to a large waterhole located right at the bottom of the mountain. The sound caused by this echoed throughout the entire kingdom, especially the area located between the den on the hill in the middle of it and the waterfall itself – soothing all those who stopped for a moment in order to pay attention and take in the relaxing noise of the rushing water.

It was a beautiful and prosperous land indeed, filled with resources to give all the herds and pray animals a reason to not travel on in search of a better home. As expected from a place that offered everything that was essential; there was a pride living there. It resided inside the large den on the hill which happened to be located at almost the exact center of the territory. This hill provided a clear view of the entire kingdom, though some parts of the southern and northern areas could only be viewed when explored and taken a closer look at because of the all hills and valleys.

The noise of cubs continued to echo throughout the den and the area that was the top of the hill. Eventually, four little felines ran outside of the cave while circling each other, hopping over each other and attempting to playfully push each other over. They were obviously full of energy, having just woken up, and couldn't wait to start their carefree day of just fooling around and being kids.

As soon as they'd left the den, they were followed by a pair of adults; a lion and a lioness, who were clearly not as energetic as the four furry bundles of lively spirit. They both looked like they'd just woken up (obviously because of four little, adorable beings). The male let out a loud yawn as they came to a halt right outside the entrance, looking like he'd give anything in exchange for just a few more minutes of peaceful slumber. This resulted in his mate chuckling to herself, even though she was clearly just as tired. "Your cubs are just as energetic as you've been." she commented with a grin. "At least we know that it's a habit they'll grow out of." Still smiling happily at the sight of the four cubs in front of them, she sat down and rested her head on her mate's shoulder.

The lion next to her playfully rolled his eyes, smiling as he felt her soft fur against his shoulder. He was about to say something when two of the cubs noticed them and called out to them in excitement, rushing over to the two adults and affectionately rubbing against their legs while trying to shove the other away in order to have more room for themselves. "Kato, Hiari…" said their father with a warm smile, his voice a little stern as his son and daughter ceased their wrestling and looked up at him with their innocent smiles. "Do you remember the rules?"

"Yes, dad…" said the male cub, nodding up at his father. He was almost a small clone of the lion, sharing his and his mother's golden fur color as well as the color of his father's mane and eyes – bright brown and rich blue respectively. Of course, Kato was still young and hasn't started growing his mane yet, but the color of the hair tuft at the tip of his tail was identical to his father's, meaning that his mane would be of a similar color as well. Hiari also nodded, once again nuzzling one of her father's large and muscular legs while purring at the contact. She too had her parents' golden fur, but she'd inherited the color of the tuft of hair at the tip of her tail and of her eyes from their mother. Her eyes were a deep green and the tuft of hair at the tip of her tail was black.

Their mother, her head still on her mate's shoulder, also looked down at their two cubs with a happy smile. "Don't get Desta and Hatari into trouble like last time, okay?" she asked, placing a paw over their little bodies as they both snuggled against each other. "You should know better than to wonder off into the forest on your own. It's very easy to get lost in there."

"I'll keep Kato in line, mommy!" said Hiari hurriedly, shooting her brother a provocative grin. He, in return, stuck his tongue out at her. Kato was in too good of a mood about having the entire day to play with his sister and friends in order to get agitated that easily. Being the king's son, he often had to spend a lot of time with his father in order to learn about different things that a ruler needed to know. While he enjoyed the time it allowed him to spend with Abasi, his father, who was mostly busy, and while he took great interest in the king's teachings, it was nice to also have time to, well, be a cub.

"Make sure you stay in sight of our hill, so that we can spot you if anything goes wrong." said Abasi, feeling like the two cubs needed to be reminded of that in particular.

"Hey, you two!" called one of the other two cubs; a girl. The tiny lioness's fur was also gold but her eyes were amber red as was the fur at the tip of her tail. "Are you coming or what?" The male cub next to her was quite different in appearance in comparison to his three friends. His fur color was and the color of the hair of the tip of his tail were both a somewhat dark brown and his eyes were amber red like those of the lioness cub by his side. He too looked like he wanted to get away from the adults already.

"Yes, Desta, we're coming!" said Kato with a hint of annoyance in his tone as he frowned in his friend's direction, causing her to giggle. He then looked up at his parents, giving the king and the queen a pleading smile only a cub could muster. Naturally, he was joined by his sister. "Can we go now?"

Even though Abasi was obviously about to let the two go, he couldn't stop himself from looking at his mate with a grin that made their cubs think like he had other plans in mind. "What do you think, Malia?" he asked, resisting the urge to laugh as Kato and Hiari immediately looked at their mother.

The queen chuckled and waved a paw dismissively. "Let them run along." she said, causing the two to yell and jump around in excitement. "For now…" Hearing her comment, Kato and Hiari immediately hurried over to Desta and Hatari. Soon enough, the four were once again laughing and running about, making their way down the hill. Once they were gone, Malia shuffled closer to Abasi so that their sides were touching, purring in content as she nuzzled into her mate's mane. He smiled warmly at her, licking the top of her head. If there was a good thing about how the cubs always woke them up so early - it was the way it gave the couple some time to spend together before they each had to go off and do what a king and a queen had to do.

"When will you go?" asked Malia softly.

"In a few minutes…" replied her mate with a sigh, obviously sounding like he would rather spend the entire day with the lioness he loved. But he knew his place and the responsibilities that came with his position. "The sooner I'm done with the patrol along the eastern border, the sooner I'll be able to finish everything else I need to do." As he said this he placed a foreleg over Malia's lower back, pulling her closer.

"You know, there's still plenty of time before I need to head out with the hunting party…" said his queen after a short silence with a somewhat seductive edge in her voice. "I think I'll tag along this time." Grinning at Malia, Abasi wasted no time in beginning to make his way towards the eastern border, playfully nudging his mate's shoulder with his own as she walked alongside him. They didn't know their minds would soon be focused on anything but each other or their patrol.

Kopa regained consciousness once more sometime later in the morning. This time, however, he immediately felt the pain he was in. He was still as weak as he'd been before if not even weaker, and once again his attempt to move did nothing but worsen his discomfort. Never before had he felt so helpless in his entire life. He wanted to see his mother and father. Why weren't they coming to help him? The cub only lay there and cried, lying completely still with the only exception being the way his chest kept rising and falling in rhythm with his sobs.

At some point, however, the prince let out a soft gasp and stopped whimpering as the sound of rustling grass reached his ears. Somebody was coming! If it was Zira or one of her lionesses… The cub once more began to panic, but the sound was coming from behind him and there was nothing he could do in order to turn around. Maybe his parents were finally coming to get him? Or one of his grandmothers? The uncertainty was too much for Kopa to handle in his condition and he couldn't stop himself from weeping once more.

The sound of paw-steps continued to become louder until, all of a sudden, it ceased altogether. Kopa once again fell silent. Had the animal causing the noise noticed him? His heart sank once more. He just couldn't take it anymore… Opening his mouth, the prince tried to call out. However, yet again, the only thing that came out was a barely inaudible and hoarse cry. Then, to his horror, the sound of the walking resumed, this time growing distant. The prince's vision began to grow blurry as his strength deserted him yet again…

His eyes suddenly becoming wide with horror, he managed to force himself to roll onto his stomach before pushing himself upwards as hard as his weak legs allowed him. However it was impossible for him to keep his balance and he immediately fell over with a loud thud. The paw-steps ceased once more. "Help…" he called, his voice a little louder. "Dad… Mom… Please…"

"What was that noise?" came a voice, sounding like it belonged to a lioness. However Kopa was too weak and his senses were once more completely out of focus and he couldn't make out what she was saying.

"I don't know." said another voice, which was more masculine. The two of them had stopped walking a few moments earlier as a result of having thought they'd heard something, but because Kopa had immediately fallen quiet… The sound of him falling over shortly afterwards, however, was impossible to misinterpret as a result of their imagination. Abasi squinted his eyebrows as he looked in the direction of the noise, but he couldn't see the cub who'd caused it because Kopa's tiny form was hidded from their view by the tall grass. "Who's there?"

Kopa was still unable to make out anything that was being said nearby, but he had a feeling that these two voices did not belong to anyone who might be helping Zira. The lioness's voice definitely did not belong to Scar's devoted supporter, and the lion's voice, while clearly not Simba's, did fill the prince with hope. After all, there wasn't a male in Zira's little group… The cub opened his mouth and took in a deep breath before somehow managing to let out a very weak, miserable but apparently loud enough mewl.

Malia's eyes widened in shock and she immediately ran forward, gasping as she saw the poor cub in front of her. She obviously had no idea where he'd come from, but that was definitely not even close to being her top priority. The young one in front of her was in a horrible state. His body carried various bruises, claw marks and even teeth marks. Abasi soon arrived at his mate's side, looking just as dumbstruck by the sight that was revealed to him. "What happened to him?" he asked eventually, looking at his mate. By the time they'd arrived Kopa had once again fallen unconscious.

Malia took a closer look, letting out a small sigh of relief when she noticed that the cub they were looking at was breathing (even if his breathing was not that much of a sight for sore eyes). She examined him, looking as if her attention was caught mostly by the various scratches and teeth puncture marks on Kopa's little body. "Another lion or lioness has done this." she said decisively. "Look at the size of his wounds." Her mate also took a closer look, nodding his head after a few seconds. "But… I don't understand…"

"What's wrong?" asked the king. Was his queen just surprised at the fact that this cub was still alive? He knew he was, but hoped that it wasn't the same with his mate. After all she was the pride's healer, so her knowledge was far greater than his when it came to this sort of thing.

"See for yourself…" she said quietly, gesturing for Abasi to take an even closer look. "All of these bites and claw marks… They're a little more than superficial at most." As Malia said this, her mate turned his attention to her, obviously curious as to where she was going with what she was saying. The less serious the cub's injuries were; the better, right? Or was he mistaken? "Whoever has done this…" The queen let out a sigh. "Whoever has done this didn't just try to kill this poor cub… They wanted to do it slowly and painfully."

"That's sick…" said her mate, his expression turning into a snarl before softening shortly afterwards, "Can you help him?"

"I can try…" said Malia with a very noticeable hint of worry in her voice. She definitely wasn't very optimistic, which only made the king even more worried about Kopa's wellbeing. "Let's take him back to the den." This earned the queen a nod of approval from her mate. "We should be very careful to not accidentally reopen one of these wounds he's carrying… We can't carry him by picking him up either from the scruff or by any other mean that is similar. It's too risky."

Coming to a decision, Abasi went ahead and lay down close to Kopa's unconscious body. "Try to lift him onto my back." Malia went ahead and gently pushed her nose beneath the cub's stomach, gently lifting him off the ground and placing him down on her mate's back. The king then rose to his paws, making sure to do it very slowly while both he and his queen kept a close watch to make sure Kopa wouldn't fall of. Then, with just as much caution, the royal pair began to make their way back to the den.

**A/N: What? Kopa hasn't lost his memories?**

**That's right. It's another thing I decided to do in order to make this story different from the 'formula' most Kopa fanfics out there go by.**

**By the way, the last chapter got only 2 reviews… Come on, you guys, you've done way better than this before! :)**

**Remember that your reviews give me more inspiration to write, something which means that they increase the chances of me updating sooner!**

**Starzinmieyez****: I'm glad you liked the family moment!**

**Incarnate Firefly****: Maybe it is… Okay, fine, it is. I also figured the characters needed a little break and wanted them to have a moment for themselves. There might be more moments like this one in the future.**


	9. The Tazua Pride (2)

"_Dad… Mom… Please…_" –Cub Kopa

Chapter 8 – The Tazua Pride (part 2)

**Same time and place where the last chapter ended**

It was a good thing King Abasi and Queen Malia had finished their patrol along the eastern border by the time they'd come across the unfortunate lion cub from the Pridelands. This allowed them to turn their full attention to taking Kopa to a safe place and treating him without having to worry about leaving the patrol uncompleted. It's not that a patrol was anywhere nearly as important as the life of another lion, especially a cub's, but at least that task concerning the border was already no longer on their to-do list.

As the two adults continued to make their way back towards their pride's den as quickly as they could without taking the risk of Kopa falling off of Abasi's back, their minds were filled with many questions. The pride living the closest to the Tazua Pride resided on top of the mountain that marked the Western border of the kingdom, but they'd found Kopa by the _eastern_ border. This obviously made the king and the queen very confused because there were no lions living anywhere for miles in that direction – seeing how the lands beyond the eastern side of the Tazua Pride's territory consisted of no water sources. As a result, there were no prey animals to hunt there.

This cub they were carrying must have originally belonged to a pride that resided very far away from theirs. It was the only reasonable explanation. But this led them to once more wonder how Kopa ended up where he had to begin with. Surely a child wouldn't have been able to make the journey on his own, especially in such a bad condition. Despite how impossible it seemed, the fact was that this very young lion was now there against all odds. As curious as Malia and Abasi were as to _how_ this could all be, they were far more concerned about making sure the cub would recover.

Surely enough, due to the fact that they'd patrolled along the entire eastern line of the border before finding Kopa and making their way back, the entire pride was already awake by the time they arrived at the top of the hill on which the den was located. Not all of them were right outside the cave, though. Some of the lionesses were elsewhere as were some of the males. They were most likely watching over their cubs (Kato, Hiari and their two friends weren't the only ones in the pride), spending the morning with their mates or just enjoying some time on their own.

Of course, the king and the queen never shoved their noses into the private lives and affairs of their subjects. However, for once, they were quite glad to see that the majority of the pride wasn't there. That included all of the cubs, which was even better. This meant that tending to Kopa's injuries would be somewhat easier thanks to the smaller amount of attention Malia was about to draw to herself. Sure enough, when she and her mate approached the entrance of their home, the adults who were there all stared in shock and confusion upon seeing the unconscious, heavily injured and unfamiliar cub on their ruler's back.

The cub was clearly alive (seeing how the queen had brought him back with her to begin with), but the extremely troubled expression on her face suggested that she was more than just simply upset because he was hurt. Knowing better than to interrupt, as well as realizing how good it was that all the cubs weren't around because of how nosy young ones could be when intrigued by something, everyone remained completely silent as the leaders of their pride entered the den without saying a single word.

It was almost completely empty; with the single exception being a rather drowsy looking adolescent. His dark grey fur made him feel comfortable enough as he lay down on the cold, stone floor of the cave. His head was placed down on his paws, which were a slightly brighter grey as was his underbelly. He had a dark brown mane growing on his head as well as beginning to appear on his chest and his red eyes were half closed as he stared at the wall, looking quite peaceful.

"Usiku." The young male raised his head upon hearing the king call his name.

"Uncle?" he asked somewhat sleepily as he looked up at the king and the queen. After seeing the unconscious cub on the king's back, however, all traces of sleep disappeared completely and Usiku rose to his paws immediately.

"Could you keep an eye on him while Malia and I go and fetch a few things?" asked Abasi softly as he lay down in the back of the den, allowing his mate to gently move Kopa from his back and place him down on the ground. While the king still didn't know the details, he had a feeling that the unfortunate cub wouldn't be very relaxed once he woke up. Therefore, since Usiku was smaller than the adults, Abasi figured that having his nephew stay there would be the best option until he and Malia returned. Kopa would be most likely less intimidated by his nephew in comparison to a fully grown lion or lioness. "We found him by the eastern border…"

"The eastern border?" The teenager raised an eyebrow, obviously confused by that small and seemingly insignificant detail. "How did a cub end up there? And in such a condition, too?" He then rubbed the back of his head with a paw as he suddenly remembered that he still hasn't made an answer to his uncle's request. "Oh, uh, yes, of course. I'll watch over him."

"We don't know how he got there, nephew." replied the king as calmly as he could in his worried state.

"We'll both be back soon with everything I need in order to nurse him back to health." said Malia as she slowly walked past the adolescent, offering him a soft smile of appreciation. She was followed by Abasi. "Make sure he doesn't get too frightened in case he wakes up before I get back." Usiku slowly nodded in understanding. He'd already figured why his uncle had asked him to stay inside the den rather than one of the adults. "He's in no condition to run off in case he gets scared, but still…" Whatever had happened to Kopa, the queen felt like it was more than enough as it was. There was no need to send him into a panic attack when he woke up. "Thank you, dear."

Much to the relief of Abasi's nephew, Kopa did not wake up at all during the queen's absence. He didn't show any sign of life as he slept aside from breathing, either. It's not that Usiku didn't want the cub to get better but, since he was a rather shy lion who did not do well in stressful situations, he preferred to not have Kopa wake up and panic as a result of his injuries, the unfamiliar place he was now located in and the presence of a complete stranger. When Malia returned she immediately took to treating the young pridelander, who continued to sleep the entire time. Yes, what she did was supposed to help him, but that didn't make it a very pleasant process so she was glad that there was no need for her to deal with any of that.

Kopa woke up a few hours after the lioness had finished tending to his wounds as much as she could. It was already early afternoon by the time he slightly opened his eyes, but he didn't know that not only because he had no idea how long he'd been unconscious for this time, but also because he wasn't outside anymore. He wasn't outside anymore… Somebody had moved him! The prince's eyes shot wide open at the realization and he immediately tried to stand up, but without any success. This time, however, much to his confusion, the pain that resulted from the attempt was far less severe than the two previous times earlier that morning.

Curious, he managed to move his head enough in order to get a look at himself. The various wounds he could look at, which were mainly those located on his chest and forelegs, had definitely been cleaned and had some sort of strange leaves pressed on them. While this did provide Kopa with a small sense of relief he still felt very weak and disoriented. Before he could try to study himself and his surroundings further, however, a voice reached his ears. "Hello, little one…" The cub's head immediately turned to look at Malia. Up until that point he'd been completely unaware of her presence, but a quick and rather forced examination indicated that she was the only one there with him.

Her voice was gentle and also soothing, almost like a gentle flow of water. Kopa couldn't help but feel slightly awed at how beautiful she was. There was an air about her that reminded him of his mother. The kind and concerned smile on her face added to that appeal. This immediately made him think of Nala (even though Malia looked nothing like her). Where was she? Or, to put it more accurately, where was he? As much as it looked like the lioness he was looking at meant no harm (she could have easily killed him before he'd even woken up and he knew it), he couldn't help but worry.

Malia could easily tell that Kopa was afraid of her. It was no surprise, but she was somewhat glad that his reaction to her wasn't as bad as it could have been. She was lying down some distance away from him in order to appear less intimidating by both making herself not look taller and by not coming close to the cub. "My name is Malia and I'm really glad you're finally awake. Are you feeling any better?" She had no doubt that he was, also seeing the fact that the cub was awake and completely aware of what was going on around him as a good sign. While she'd had her doubts upon first finding him, it was definitely starting to look like he would be okay.

Kopa continued to stare at the adult in front of him for what seemed like eternity to both of them, still unsure of what to think of what was happening. "D-di…" he stuttered, feeling dizzy for a brief moment. His voice was hoarse and weak, making him suddenly realize just how thirsty he was. This led him to also think about food… How long has it been since he'd last eaten or drank anything? "D-did you… do this?" as he looked himself over again, though, he made sure to keep the lioness within his sight.

Malia slowly nodded her head in approval as the cub finished examining himself, his eyes locking with hers once more. "Yes. I brought you here and took care of you." So far this was going rather well, she told herself. "What's your name, child?"

Kopa hesitated for a brief moment before forcing himself to answer. "I…" There was no reason for him to not tell her his name, was it? Also, even though his fear of Malia suddenly attacking him seemed very unlikely to come true, he didn't want to upset her by not cooperating. "I'm Kopa… Um… T-thank you…" He seemed to relax to a certain extent, though definitely not fully just yet, but he lost whatever sense of relief that had washed over him when Malia spoke to him again.

"What a lovely name." she said with a warm smile, before moving on to what made Kopa so uneasy. "Where are you from, Kopa? What happened to you?" This time she spoke with a somewhat less merry expression; her relief replaced with concern.

Kopa's eyes widened a little at the question as he suddenly became fully aware of his situation once more. It seemed like he was safe now, yes, but that seemed to lose whatever significance such a revelation would normally have on someone in his condition when he was reminded of the fact that he had no idea where he was or where to find his family. His parents… how badly he wanted to see them what had happened… Nothing would make him feel better and safer more than just having one of them show up and tell him that everything was going to be okay. He would have settled for anyone from Pride Rock, really, as long as it was a familiar face. Feeling tears forming in his eyes, he looked down at the ground and did his best to hold them in.

Noticing the change in the cub's already disturbed demeanor, Malia immediately regretted bringing up the subject. "I'm sorry, please excuse me." she said. She should have known better than to let her curiosity get the better of her like that. Just what was she thinking, asking one so young to tell her about how he'd ended up in such a horrible state? "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." The queen slowly got to her paws, causing Kopa to freeze in his spot as he looked up at her, afraid of what she might do. But she remained where she was. "Is it alright if I come closer?"

There was this pretty loud voice inside Kopa's head that told him to follow his instincts and tell Malia to stay away. She was a complete stranger at the end of the day, even if she'd obviously helped him, and after the way he was nearly killed by a lioness he thought was a member of his father's pride he felt more than just a little reluctant about putting his trust in somebody he didn't know at all. However, at the same time, he understood that she could have killed him already if she wanted to. As much as he wanted to be in the company of somebody he knew, he was also afraid of being left completely on his own. After a very long hesitation, the cub finally gave his consent with a short nod of his head.

The lioness smiled, feeling relieved to see, while Kopa was afraid to a certain degree and would need some time to get used to being in a pride filled with complete strangers, that he was at least calm enough around her. That was going to make it easier for him to come to terms with the place he was now in and was going to be in at least until making a full recovery. After slowly making her way over to the cub, she cautiously lay down next to him so that their sides were touching. While still clearly unsure as to whether he should be this close to the adult, he did seem to find some comfort in the sensation of her warm fur against his.

Kopa even went ahead and leaned against the queen's foreleg in order to increase the contact, but also winced as his body protested at having to move. "H-how long will it hurt?" he asked, looking up at Malia. He was still so confused as to why he had to be in so much pain and separated from his parents. Why had Zira done this to him? He's never done anything bad to her and he was a friend of Vitani and Nuka, her own children. The thought of his two best and only friends made him get all choked up again. Not having them around as well wasn't a welcome addition to not knowing where his parents were.

The queen looked down at the cub next to her with a sympathetic smile. She was definitely more optimistic now that he was awake. "You'll be a little uncomfortable for a few days but, after that, everything will be as good as new." If there was one good thing about the fact that Kopa's attacker hadn't inflicted any deep and serious injuries on Kopa (sadistic reasons aside) was that the young male would most likely not carry even a single scar on his body as a visual reminder of the trauma. "In fact, you won't even get any scars. You'll look as if nothing's ever happened to you."

A few moments of silence passed before Malia could suddenly feel Kopa shaking against her leg. She looked down at the cub, her ears going flat against her head when she saw that he was sobbing quietly. "What's the matter, Kopa?" she asked softly, the concern noticeable in her voice. She would have made a physical attempt to calm him down but didn't want to cause him and discomfort by accidentally touching any area of his body that was hurt.

In a way, she should have seen his answer coming. "I want my mom and dad…" he said, his voice a whimper as he buried his face against the queen's leg, his tears drenching her fur. She let out a soft sigh, knowing that she couldn't blame the cub for being so emotional about having been separated from his home and family. Before she could try to say something reassuring to him (even though she knew that the only way to truly calm him down would be to reunite him with his mother and father), Abasi walked into the den.

The noise caused by the king's paws as he made his entrance got the attention of both of them and Kopa let out a soft gasp before shrinking at the sight of him, suddenly feeling as if he was the tiniest being in the entire world. He'd never seen another lion other than Simba up until that point in his life (Nuka didn't count, obviously, being _much_ younger at the time) and was naturally scared by his presence. Being a male, Abasi was a little larger than his mate was. His fully grown, majestic looking mane only added to the intimidating effect. He was carrying what seemed like a fresh chunk of meat which he placed down as he came to a halt upon seeing that Kopa was awake.

It was a relief to see that the cub was no longer unconscious, not to mention that the fact that he seemed to be comfortable enough with having Malia around was a sight for sore eyes as well. However, the king wasn't completely clueless and could immediately tell that Kopa was afraid of him (it was rather predictable as well as understandable), which was why he'd come to a stop by the entrance of the den instead of making his way to the back of it where Kopa and Malia were.

"There's no need to fear, Kopa." said Malia softly, gently nudging the top of the cub's head with her nose in order to get his attention and remind him that she was still there with him. "This is Abasi; my mate and the king of these lands. He's not going to hurt you."

Kopa looked up at the lioness by his side. It's not that he didn't believe her when she said he wasn't in danger, but… "King?" He wasn't unaware of the fact that there were other kingdoms out there other than Pride Rock. It was the fact that he was actually in one of them that made him uneasy. Did that mean he wasn't at least near the Pridelands? He'd hoped that he was somewhere in the area, but his father had told him that there weren't other prides living within the close proximity of their home… Just how far away from his parents was he?

"My mate speaks the truth. I mean you no harm." said Abasi with a small smile. "You're safe here, I can assure you. My pride will not hurt you either."

It seemed like the fully grown lion was about to say something else but Kopa cut him short all of a sudden. "D-do you know where the Pridelands are?" It's not that he wanted to appear disrespectful, especially not towards the king and the queen who pretty much controlled his safety, but perhaps the two knew something about his home. Maybe they'd be able to help him go back.

"The… Pridelands?" asked the king, exchanging a few glances with his mate. That had to be where Kopa was from, they figured.

However, to the young cub's dismay, Abasi then shook his head. His eyes started to water as his fears were confirmed. He was lost.

**Sparkpikachu (guest)****: Thank you for saying that, it means a lot! Also, thanks for reading and reviewing my Pokémon story. I can assure you that I have not forgotten it. It's on hiatus at the moment, unfortunately, but it will be completed in the future.**

**Starzinmieyez****: I know… I wish I could give him a hug…**

**Incarnate Firefly****: This chapter pretty much provides him with a reason. By the way, I also felt bad for Kopa when I wrote the previous chapter… It had been quite a fright for him.**

**Thirsty19****: I'm glad you think I did well with the descriptions in the previous chapter! One thing I noticed is that physical descriptions are something I don't put in very often and I'm happy I did well with it this time around.**

**ThoughtsOfAReader****: Thank you!**

**Kusa****: The memory loss isn't the first thing I've stirred away from so far nor will it be the last. I'm glad that not implementing the regular memory loss idea has received positive reactions from everyone. :)**

**A/N: Wow; the previous chapter was reviewed by 6 different people! That's absolutely awesome! Thanks to all of you who reviewed! I'll be delighted if this keeps up!**


	10. Fitting In

"_The… Pridelands?_" –Abasi

Chapter 9 – Fitting In

All Malia and Abasi could do was remain there and helplessly watch with sympathetic looks on their faces as Kopa finally lost it and broke into tears. As much as they hated seeing anyone so distressed, they doubted there was anything they could do to help him. They didn't know where Kopa came from. Well, they knew he was from the Pridelands, but they didn't know where he was _physically_ from. From the looks of it, the cub had obviously figured out that the location of his home was unknown to anybody in the Tazua Pride. Heck, for one so young, it was a surprise he'd kept his emotions in check for as long as he had considering what he's been through.

It seemed like the one thing they could do, as insignificant as it might seem, was to try to calm the little one down. Yes, there was nothing they could do to help him get back to his parents, but crying about it obviously wasn't going to help him do so either. If anything, it was only going to make things harder. "Please, sweetie, try to calm down…" said Malia softly at some point, unable to just lie there and watch the poor cub cry his heart out as he hid his face by pressing it against her leg. She so badly wished there was something else she could do as did her mate, but they doubted there was.

"I want to go home!" yelled the cub, his voice a wail as his tears continued to drench the queen's fur. How could he calm down? He was in the middle of nowhere (Pridelands – wise) after having almost been brutally murdered and, from the looks of things, his odds of ever returning home were slim to none. What if he never saw his family or friends again?

"I know you do, dear…" If she were in his position she'd have probably wanted nothing else but to see her parents, too. "I can only try to imagine how you're feeling at the moment and I'm not capable of understanding what you're going through. But, whatever it was that caused you to end up here, you don't have to be afraid of it anymore. You're safe now." Even though it could probably be considered as taking a huge risk, she went ahead and gently nuzzled Kopa, making sure to do it as tenderly as possible so to not cause the cub any discomfort because of his still-healing wounds. He didn't seem to mind what she was doing. Or perhaps he was too caught up in his weeping in order to care or notice.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Abasi once again picked up the chunk of meat he'd brought with him before slowly making his way over to his mate and the cub that was now in their care. For a moment the king thought, being a fully grown male, that him suddenly coming closer would startle Kopa, but Kopa paid little to no attention to him as he once again leaned against Malia's leg, seemingly finding some comfort in her actions. Yes, he was still crying, but, after a while, it looked like he was beginning to slowly calm down. Abasi took the liberty of lying down in front of his queen and the pridelander cub, placing the meat down in front of him as he did.

Kopa quieted down a little more as he stared at the food with what could almost be considered as confusion before looking up at the lion in front of him. "You should eat." said the king with a soft smile, nudging the meat closer to him with his muzzle. It must have been a long time since the cub had last eaten anything considering the very large distance that now separated him and his home. He was probably hungrier than he's ever been in his entire life. However, he seemed to be a little hesitant for some reason. "Everything's okay, Kopa. You have nothing to fear." Despite how deep and masculine his voice was in comparison to his mate's there was also the same hint of concern and compassion in it. "Go on."

After another short hesitation, Kopa finally leaned over towards the meat in front of him. He took a rather small bite, slowly chewed and swallowed it before digging in, eating like any hungry lion of any age and / or size would. Normally he was much more reserved when he ate, but he was just too hungry to even think about manners at the moment. Malia looked down at him with a warm smile as he tore into the meat almost ravenously, feeling glad to see, despite how it would clearly take him a while to get used to the new reality of his life, that it looked like he would be okay in due time.

Feeling Abasi place his paw on top of hers all of a sudden, the queen looked at her mate and saw him motion towards another part of the den with his head. Realizing that he wanted to speak to her privately, she gently poked the top of Kopa's head with her nose in order to get his attention. "We'll be right back, alright?" she said softly, smiling down at the cub.

Swallowing whatever amount of food he had in his mouth, Kopa looked up at the lioness with a rather weary look on his face. "W-where are you going?" he asked, sounding a little worried. The prospect of being left on his own did not appeal to him one bit. Even if he didn't know the two adults at all, he didn't want them to go away and leave him alone.

"Nowhere, sweetie," said the queen reassuringly, "we'll remain here in the den, with you."

"Um… Okay…" replied the cub, watching with some concern as Malia got up before following Abasi to another corner of the den before resuming his meal.

"Oh, Abasi, I'm so relieved…" said the lioness with a sigh as she and her mate came to a halt some distance away from Kopa, nuzzling him for a brief moment as they sat down. "I was so worried about him… He was really lucky we found him. I don't think he would have lasted much longer if we hadn't…" A somewhat confused expression replaced her smile when she saw the rather thoughtful look on the king's face. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm still unable to believe another lion or lioness has done this to a cub…" said Abasi with a very brief and barely audible growl, "We need to figure out what's going to become of him now."

"You're not suggesting we send him away, are you?" asked Malia, unable to help herself from becoming worried for whatever reason. She didn't know the love of her life as a lion who would ever do such a thing, but the way he growled made her ask the question without really paying it any thought. "He has nowhere to go."

"Of course he can stay here." said the lion with a soft smile. What kind of a king would he be if he didn't offer help to those who needed it? "What I meant is that we need to think of what to do next." He looked at the entrance of the den from where, sure enough he could hear some of their pride members talking as well as cubs playing around. It was already late afternoon, so most of the little ones have either returned already or have been brought back to the area of the den by their parents. "I don't think it's a good idea to just force the entire pride on him like this… You saw how nervous he initially was around us." Malia slowly nodded her head in agreement, seeing the logic in what he was saying. "I don't want to scare him. He's been through a hectic enough of a fright as it is."

"I think the other adults won't be the only problem for the next couple of days." said Malia after a short silence. "Letting the other cubs come near him might be an even worse idea… Not only because Kopa's in no condition to run around and play yet, but also because, well… You know how young ones can be around those that are… different." Kopa was obviously going to be very emotional for the next few days not to mention nervous around anybody he didn't know, which obviously included cubs his age. "The last thing he needs right now is to get picked on just because he's not in control of himself. Cubs are too young to understand things like this and it might turn out bad if they get the wrong impression of him." If there was one thing that was going to make it even harder for Kopa to fit in, it would be getting bullied by the other cubs – even if just by a few of them.

"I agree." replied her mate with a few nods of his head. "So here's what I have in mind. For the next week, if not longer, I think it would be best if Kopa stayed in one of the small caves not far from here. We could take turns in keeping an eye on him so that the other can take care of the kingdom and watch our cubs."

The queen was silent for a short moment. "But, knowing that we're busy taking care of him, won't Kato and Hiari harbor any hard feelings?" True, Abasi had most likely suggested that they took turns so that their children wouldn't just end up seeing very little of one of them for a long period of time, but still… "We said that we don't want any of the other cubs to think ill of him and treat him like an outcast." However, as she tried to think of an alternative, she couldn't come up with a better idea that would resolve this possible issue. After all, introducing another adult to Kopa could end up having negative results, not to mention that most of their pride members had cubs of their own to take care of as well.

"They're clever kids, Malia." said Abasi with a smile. "We taught them better. We'll need to explain things to them very carefully, of course, but I'm sure everything will be alright. If not, as their parents, we'll be able to set them straight before the situation gets out of control." He looked at Kopa for a brief moment. The cub was still eating and not paying any attention to the two of them. Turning his gaze back to his mate, he gently licked the top of her head to calm her down. "Don't worry, he'll be fine." He couldn't help but admire the way the mother of his heirs was so concerned for a cub that wasn't even theirs. She was the most thoughtful and considerate lioness he's ever met in his entire life.

"Okay…" said his mate with a smile as she nuzzled into his mane, purring in content. The king returned the display of affection for a brief moment before she pulled away. "We should probably explain to him what's going to happen before we do so to the rest of the adults as well as to Kato and Hiari." The king nodded in approval as the two of them stood up and made their way back over to Kopa. He seemed like he's had his fill for the time being. "If you're still hungry" said the queen, getting his attention as she chuckled at the fact that the cub ate everything that'd been given to him, "I think there're still some leftovers outside."

"Oh, um, that's okay, your majesty…" replied Kopa with a slight bow of his head, "Thank you for everything you've done for me…"

"Are you sure?" asked the lioness, getting a nod in response. "Well, don't be shy to ask for anything if you need it." She smiled down at the cub. "By the way, you don't have to be formal. Our names will do just fine."

"Now, Kopa," said Abasi softly as Malia once again lay down next to the young lion. "I'm sure the rest of my pride is quite interested about you." He noticed Kopa tense up a little as he said this, something which didn't surprise him. "But I believe you could use a few days to calm down. So, the two of us have decided it might be best if, for the time being, you stayed with one of us in a different den not far from here. We wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable by making you meet everyone before you're ready. How does that sound?"

Kopa seemed to relax a little as he realized that he wouldn't be meeting more strangers anytime soon. "T-that would be nice… Hey, uh, do you think my parents will come and get me?" he asked, a somewhat hopeful expression on his face.

The small smiles on the adults' faces disappeared as they heard his question. "Well, er…" said Malia, but found herself at a loss for words. What was she going to say to him? She had no doubt that his parents were worried sick about him and that they were looking for him, of course, but as for the chances of them ever finding him when he was so far away from them… As bad as it made her feel to know that his parents were probably just as devastated as he was, there was nothing she could do to help. The only thing she could do was continue to look after their son like she's done so far. If only there was a way for her to inform them that he was safe…

The small, hopeful smile on the cub's face didn't make it any easier for her. As much as she didn't want to dampen his slightly more cheerful mood, she knew she couldn't lie to him and make him develop false hopes. It would be even crueler than telling him the truth. "Listen, Kopa, I'm sure your parents love you very much and that they're doing their best to find you." She took in a deep breath before continuing. "But you are very far away from your home… I just want you to remember the possibility that, well…" Noticing his smile vanish made it even harder for her to continue, but she had to say this. Telling him the truth would be better than lying to him. "There's a chance that they won't find you…"

Kopa stared down at the floor as tears filled his eyes yet again. The queen sighed before gently placing a paw on his back. "I'm really sorry, Kopa, but I don't want to lie to you and make you develop any false hopes. You understand, right?" The cub slowly nodded his head in approval, but she could feel his little body tremble beneath her paw. It seemed the only thing they could all do was wait and hope that it wouldn't take him too long to come to terms with the fact that he was almost certainly never going to see his parents again.

Several days went by. While Kopa has already fully recovered from his physical injuries, the king and the queen were rather worried about his not very promising mental condition. Despite the fact that the two rulers made sure that Kopa was well aware of the possibility that his parents weren't going to come for him, the cub still had this hope within him that he would see them again soon. The more time went on, the worse he felt and the more depressed he became. Sometimes he would wake either Abasi or Malia up (depending on which one of them was with him in the separate den) in the middle of the night by screaming in fright because of a nightmare. Sometimes, when he looked like he was feeling relatively calm, he would suddenly burst into tears. He would even start randomly talking to himself from time to time, as if trying to reassure himself that he would be taken home soon. There could be no doubt about the fact that he was slowly starting to lose his mind.

His appetite wasn't very promising either. Barely wanting to eat anything, if at all, has always been a common sign of depression. Malia was worried sick that Kopa might become ill because of the lack of sleep and food his body was going through. While she had a lot of experience taking care of injuries to the flesh, what Kopa was going through was one thing that had no magical cure or remedy. His condition was going to be effected by him and him alone. There was nothing she or her mate could do but try to lighten up his mood by being there for him. If he were to fall ill because of it and continue to refuse to eat, it was going to put his life in grave danger.

The queen was sitting outside the small cave in which Kopa had spent the majority of his time during the past few days. It was a late hour of the morning and the sun was already coming close to reaching the center of the sky. The lioness let out a yawn as she looked out into the distance through her half-closed eyes. She'd spent the majority of the night trying to get Kopa to go back to sleep after he'd woken up several times because of his nightmares. He was sleeping inside the den at the moment (at least, last time she'd checked, he was still sound asleep) and she was using the opportunity to get herself some fresh air.

The warm air around her, accompanied by a soft breeze, made it very tempting to just go to sleep right there on the grass, and she was about to do just that while she still could when the wind carried a familiar scent in her direction. Looking to her left, she smiled when she saw Abasi heading towards her along with their son and daughter. Her mate nuzzled her affectionately upon arriving by her side. "Kato and Hiari wanted to see you." he said with a chuckle, even though he had a feeling that the lioness had figured that out on her own.

Regardless of how worried the two adults were because of Kopa's condition, Malia couldn't help but smile warmly when her two cubs ran over to her and threw themselves at her, purring happily as she ran her paw through their fur. "How are you, darlings?" she asked, chuckling as the two looked up at her with their innocent smiles.

"When are you and dad going to come back to the den?" asked Kato, causing the smile to disappear from his mother's muzzle. "One of you is always gone."

"I don't know yet, dear." she said calmly, "But do you remember what I told you and your sister?" The two cubs nodded their heads. "This is something your father and I have to do that is very important and it might take some time."

"I know, mom…" said her son with a slight hint of disappointment in her voice, "It's just that it's been a while since we got to spend time with both of you…"

"I know, Kato, and I'm very proud of the patience the two of you have shown so far."

As his son and mate continued to talk, Abasi noticed that Hiari wasn't paying attention to their conversation at all. He followed her gaze before realizing that she was staring at the direction of Kopa's small cave where, surprisingly enough, the cub in question was peeking through and looking at them curiously. When he became aware of the fact that the princess's attention was focused on him he quickly retreated and disappeared from their sight. "Mommy?" asked the female cub all of a sudden, getting her mother's attention. "Is the new cub okay?" A short silence followed. "He looks really upset and scared…"

Malia looked at her mate, who slowly nodded his head to let her know that Kopa was up again and that their daughter had seen him. "Not yet, sweetheart." said the king with a soft sigh as he gently placed a paw on Hiari's back. "Don't forget that he's been through a very traumatic experience. He needs more time." From the small amount of information Kopa had given him and Malia about what had happened, the rest of the pride learned a little about who he was and about his past.

"But… he will be okay, right?" asked the cub as she looked up at her father, her eyes filled with genuine concern.

Despite not having an answer to give his daughter, Abasi couldn't help but smile at the way she was worried about their newest pride member. She and her brother had definitely inherited their mother's kindness. "I don't know, Hiari. I hope he will be."

"Isn't it boring to just stay inside the den all day?" asked Kato all of a sudden. "I mean, that's no fun. I'm sure he'll feel better if he goes outside and plays a little."

"Yeah." agreed his sister. "Maybe we should try and talk to him."

Malia and Abasi looked at each other, obviously a little hesitant about their children's suggestion. Yes, they could both tell that the two cubs wanted to help and that they wouldn't pick on Kopa like some of the other cubs whose opinion of the pridelander prince was already not very positive, but what they were concerned about was how Kopa might react to the two of them. "I don't think that's a good idea, Hiari." said Malia after a short silence, looking down at her son and daughter. "I know the two of you mean well, but it looks like Kopa would rather be on his own for the time being."

"Nobody wants to be alone…" said her daughter, getting a nod of agreement from her sibling.

The king and the queen looked down at Hiari with a surprised look on their faces as she said this. For someone so young she was very clever. The two adults looked at each other for a brief moment. Perhaps what Kopa really needed was some more company. Maybe, because he kept constantly dwelling on the fact that his parents weren't around anymore, having some friends would help him get over it or, at the very least, deal with it better. Besides, it wouldn't do any harm if the two went ahead and spoke to him, would it? Should it look like things were taking a turn for the worse, Abasi and Malia would always have the option of just ending the interaction between the three cubs right then and there.

Also, the two cubs' parents really couldn't think of anything else to do in order to make Kopa feel better. "Alright." said Malia eventually, causing her cubs to smile broadly at her. The idea of making a new friend obviously excited them greatly. "But don't come near him unless you're absolutely sure he's okay with it," she continued, a little more sternly, "and do not, under any circumstances, ask him anything about what has happened to him. Not about his home, his friends and definitely not about his parents. Is that understood?" The prince and the princess nodded in understanding, causing their mother to sigh. She hoped she wasn't about to make a big mistake. If anything bad happened to Kopa for whatever reason, she would never forgive herself.

**A/N: This was a slightly longer chapter than the rest so far. :)**

**Before I get to answering your reviews (7 of them this time – you guys are the best! Keep it up!) I have a small announcement to make:**

**You're probably aware of the situation here in Israel (with Gaza and what not). In case some of you have already forgotten, I am a soldier in mandatory service in the IDF. Tomorrow I'm going down to the south for I don't know how long – probably until the entire operation is over. This means that I also don't know how long it'll take for me to write and upload the next chapter. I just thought I'd inform you of the upcoming delay.**

**Also, there's no need to worry about my safety. I'm in the Artillery Corps so I won't be anywhere near the front. Anyway, now to your very much appreciated reviews.**

**Incarnate Firefly****: I'm trying to think of a way of inserting an explanation sometime in the future. I hope I'll be able to do so.**

**almondbutter****: Thank you! It's supposed to be sad, I know… :(**

**Starzinmieyez****: I know… :(**

**ThoughtsOfAReader****: Thank you for reviewing the previous chapters as well!**

**Sparkpikachu (Guest)****: Like I said in response to Firefly's review, I'm trying to think of a way of adding an explanation to that.**

**Keep Calm and Join Team Loki****: I'm glad I managed to carry out the whole emotional aspect of the story well so far. The subject of the throne will obviously be approached and resolved at some point, although most likely in a way you're not expecting.**

**Kusa****: Thanks. It's a good thing I was able to steer away from the memory loss in a way that made sense.**

**Answering your reviews sure is fun! See you guys next time (I hope this whole mess will be over soon)! Keep those reviews coming! :)**


End file.
